Everything in its Own Season
by Karou WindStalker
Summary: A story set in a friend's universe. Involves Police, Drama, Mature Themes, and Furries, so be warned.
1. Dawning of a New Day

My thanks to Rick Coona and his alter ego, Joe Martelle, for their kind permission to write this story in their universe. Their comments and encouragement have been instrumental in bringing this story to life.

George Woodrow 4 – 2009 -2010

Kassir Ujinkhan, Joe Fenris, Carol Fenris, Jeff Salters, Michelle Musteline, George MacInnes, Tim Johansen, Bill Richards, George Leonis, Phil Leonis, Leona Felis Leonis, Lynne Smyth, Michael Pardis, Christine Uncia, Karl Ursiris, Richard Kassir Charles Procyon, Kelso Gwenwyfar Procyon, Janice Lynne Ujinkhan, Alexander Kassir Ujinkhan, Harold Hendrikson, Susan Blackstone © Chuck Percy

Rick Coona, Gwen Smith Coona, Kacy "KC" Coona, Kirk Otterman, Mike Ferretti, Cassy Bhunny Ferretti, Max Badger, Kath Badger, Bill Badger, Ted Badger, Bruno, Lupé Carlotta, Panda Phil, Jo-Ann Procyon, Charles Procyon, Marcus Procyon, Jack Canus, Esmerelda Smyth, Richard Coona, Helen Coona, Max Coona, Sally Coona, Kacey Kelso Coona, Richard Randolph Coona, . © Joe Martelle

Vince Panthris, Veronica Dae Wynne, Kessira "Ghost" Tigris, Valerie Vulpes, FursList, FurMail, Dwight "Scratcher" Daniels, Molly Daniels, Clyve "Spots" Asher, Purity Spices, Janice Wyld, Albert Wyld, Petty Officer 3 Fenrir, Claire Kurisawa, Petty Officer 3 Dwight Lupin, Petty Officer 3 William 'Wild Bill' Strynger, Petty Officer 3 Tymoth Edwards, Petty Officer 2 Annalisa Snowpaws, Lieutenant Mykhail Friedrich, Geoffry Oceanis, Annette Oceanis, Sylvia Oceanis, Stevie, Cliff, Malachi, Zeke, Deke, The Children of the Pure Moon, Wylde Longstride, Reginald Blackfeather, Blake Paguma, Miz Swenson, Sylvia Paguma, Julio Vulpes, Francine Woolmyra, Zarius Zoaster Wylfgar the Third, Quinn Tallman, Lancir Concolor Pantheris, Anisu Christie, Simon Whyte, Kodi Adams, Klauss Greunig, Rusty McCloud, Kumiko Tigris, Cassidy Panthris, Jazmyn Panthris, CandicePanthris, Deidre Panthris © George Woodrow 4

Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is unintentional and accidental.

**Chapter 1: Dawning of a New Day**

As Vince gets up, he rubs his head, trying to clear his mind of the dream he just had, muttering to himself, "What an odd dream, wish I remembered more of it." He then swings his large frame off his bed, his bare paws touching the floor, then he stands up to his full height, stretching and limbering up, "Time to get myself back to work." He then heads to the shower in his apartment, briefly stopping to turn on the radio, which he had tuned to the area's classic rock station KZOK, catching the last few minutes of the morning crew as he listens in.

Today he starts in a new division, in a new precinct, and he is looking forward to meeting the new policefurs he will be working with, and hoping that he fits in well. And hoped that there wouldn't be any hidden trouble due to his hybrid nature. He purred as he left the shower, briefly stopping at the fur dryer, then back to the bedroom to get dressed for his first day in the Evidence division, making sure to put on his body armor, a habit he'd kept from his days as a street cop. One new addition to his routine is the knee brace which he wears now, due to the injuries he sustained at his old precinct.

Leaving his apartment, he heads down to the garage and gets into the '88 Jeep he drives, gently putting it into gear and heading out, making sure that he's left enough time to get to the precinct with time to spare. After dodging his way through a typical morning commute, he pulls into an unmarked spot, then gathers his effects and heads in to check in, nodding in a friendly fashion to those who seem friendly enough. Stopping at the desk, he checks in, "Sergeant Panthris reporting in, where should I head first?"

The vixen at the desk checks her list and nods, "Well, the captain's busy right now, but he should be free shortly. Perhaps you'd like to get started on the paperwork that needs done to finalize your transfer over here."

Vince nods, and offers a paw for the paperwork, "Might as well get this done asap, so I can get out there and do some good." Sitting carefully, he extends his right leg, taking the strain from the knee as he does so.

The fur behind the desk raises a brow, then murmurs an apologetic, "Sorry, didn't mean to stare."

Vince chuckles and smiles, "Dislocated the kneecap and tore the meniscus chasing down a suspect. Got my current duty 'cause I didn't want to give up the job I love and someone thought I could do some good working the evidence room 'til I'm good to go back on the beat." He grins a bit self consciously as he keeps filling out the paperwork, "Sorry, didn't mean to vent like that."

The policefemme smiles and nods, "M'name's Valerie Vulpes, and I think you've the right attitude to work here."

Coming up on the last moments of the conversation, Jo-Ann Procyon comes from the back, smiling at Valerie, "Got some new blood here?" She smiles at Vince, one policefur to another, taking in what she sees.

Vince is almost too large to believe, appearing at first glimpse to be a mountain lion, but she catches hints of what appear to be raccoon stripes. She also gets a vibe from the new fur that tells her that she should bring this fur to Kass' attention. After these few thoughts, Jo-Ann reaches out an offers her paw, "Welcome to the precinct, I'm Detective Procyon, hope you find yourself at home quickly, Sergeant ..."

Vince takes Jo-Ann's hand in a comradely fashion, taking in the vision the is before him, "Vince Panthris, heading for the Evidence room once the paperwork's done."

When they touch, there is a slight spark that Jo-Ann notices and files it away for further inspection once her shift's over and she's safe at Casa Coona North. She nods then smiles, "I'll let the chief know you're here," and then walks back to the ops center, swishing her tail behind her.

Vince's thoughts roam for a moment before returning to his paperwork. _"My, isn't that a lovely sight."_

# # #

Later that day, Jo-Ann enters Casa Coona North and, after getting into the garb typical for that establishment, seeks out her teacher, calling out, "Gwen?"

Gwen answers, "Out in the garden, a couple of these herbs are due for a trimming."

As Jo-Ann enters the garden she smiles upon seeing the statuesque skunkette, then murmurs, "Is Kass going to be around? I need to talk to you both."

Gwen shakes her head no, "He'll be here this weekend, the new batch of trainees will be done by then."

Jo-Ann nods, then smiles, "I met an interesting fur today, new transfer to the Evidence room."

Gwen nodded, "What was so interesting, hon?," knowing that with her training, Jo-Ann would not bring this fur up unless there was something special about them.

Jo-Ann smirks, "You know me too well," she then closes her eyes briefly to remember, "Well, first off he's a mountain of a fur, seems to be a cougar, but from some subtle hints he's a hybrid of some degree. But that's not why he's interesting."

Gwen nods as she waits for the juicy bits, "Go on."

The raccoon femme smiles as she says, "Well, I got a bit of a vibe from him that said to me that I should bring him to Kass' attention the next time I could. Then, when we shook hands, there was something special about him that sparked something within myself, almost as if something within myself was recognizing this fur as something it needed."

Gwen nods, then smiles, "Sounds like an interesting fur." She then chuckles, "I'm sure that you'll find out more about him in your own way. Just make sure you remember to tell Kass about your feelings."

Jo-Ann nods, then grins, "On another subject, how were the twin terrors today?"

Gwen grinned, "Mine, yours, or Kel's? Mine are excited about school, and all the fun they're having learning things. Yours are playing with their toys. And Kel's are sleeping right now."

Jo-Ann grins happily, "Must be something in the air, here, at CCN, that causes so many twins. Right Gwen?"

Gwen just smiled and shook her head, "I wouldn't say that, hon, but none of the kids are lacking for love, and I don't mind watching them when I'm here."

Jo-Ann smiles, "So, how's the business doing? Any new developments that stand out for you?"

Gwen smiles, "I'm just glad Veronica was willing to move with the company, she's such a godsend. She knows the furs that came out here pretty well, and can help me deal with the damn meetings," she then smiles, "Might invite her over here soon, I think you'd like her. Very feisty gal, and it seems she comes from a family of cops, but she knew that lifestyle wasn't for her."

Jo-Ann nods and chuckles, "Aye, it does take a certain mindset to do my kind of job."

At the same time Jo-Ann is having her discussion, Vince is entering his apartment, smiling as he lets the day go, picking up his guitar. After stretching his fingers, he runs through the first set of his warm up exercises on the guitar. When he feels he's warmed up enough, he starts practicing the music he enjoys, starting with the simpler pieces and gradually moving onto the harder ones, not plugging into the amplifier for this portion of his workout. He closes his eyes as he performs a sad piece which reminds him of his grandparents, gone for so many years. He begins singing, his purring voice strong yet mellow, a deep rumble in his chest suggesting a wider range than most might suspect.

Once his practice is over, he logs into his home computer, checking his private email and perusing a few sites for news and entertainment. Lastly he logs into FursList, where he places an ad for other folks to form a band with.

**Seeking Others to Start Band**

**Guitarist seeks at least two furs to start a band. Must provide own instrument, and be available to practice several times a week. Bass / Drums preferred, but second vocals not unwelcome.**

**Contact Vince Panthris either through here or via cell (xyz)555-4321**

Checking his wording he presses 'send' and then logs off, smiling, "I hope I'm doing the right thing, this is going to eat a lot into my private time." He then gets himself ready for bed, leaving just enough on that if there is an emergency, he won't have to worry about finding clothing. Once in bed, he remembers meeting Jo-Ann and smiles, "It was nice meeting her, and I hope I get the chance to talk more with her." Once he's asleep, his dreams feature Jo-Ann rather explicitly and prominently.

Halfway across town, Veronica is getting home, entering the renovated warehouse that she calls home. Smiling once she locks the door behind her, she checks her answering machine, and seeing no messages waiting for her, she moves into the kitchen and fixes herself a quick meal of london broil, potatoes, and salad. Quickly doing the prep, she smiles, grateful that she has thought ahead and made several meals for herself for days when she arrives home late like this.

Once her dishes are in the washer, she sits down at her home computer and wakes it up, checking her email and seeing if there's any news that she might need to know. One email points her to the new listing on FursList, a search wizard she made alerting her to the posting of a fur looking for folks to form a band. Smiling as she reads the entry, she quickly clicks on the return email link, placing her response to it carefully.

**To : Vince Panthris**

**This is in response to your ad on FursList. My name's Veronica Dae Wynne, and I play both regular and bass guitar, and I've been told my voice isn't half bad. Where would you like to meet, so as to see whether or not I'll be a good fit for what style music you're looking to perform. You can contact me via this email or my cell (xyz)555-4231.**

**Veronica Dae Wynne**

When she reads what she wrote, she smiles and hits 'send', noticing that the fur she's sending to seems to have an interesting email address, VincePanthrisPD , she muses aloud to herself, "I wonder if the PD means he's a policefur." Logging off and setting her computer to sleep, she sets about her nightly ritual of practicing on her guitar, a present from her parents when she graduated college and got her job at Harcourt-Smyth Enterprises. She didn't know how they managed to get it done in secret, but it suits her so well. She had named it 'Duality' .. though she describes it to others as a hybrid. Looking at the guitar, the double necks catching the ambient light, she picks it up and places the strap over her shoulder. Plugging it in to her amplifier, she warms up on both necks, the normal guitar tuning first, then the bass guitar, the odd harmonics bringing a smile to her muzzle.

Working through her own routine of songs, she lets go of the day's tensions, gradually moving from one genre to another, finally finishing up with a sprightly rendition of Greig's 'Hall of the Mountain King' which she leaves to last each time, simply because of the switching between registers she forces herself to do.

Placing the guitar back on its stand, she then slips out of her clothing, extinguishing the lights as she moves to her bed, and checking on her plants as she goes, reminding herself that they'll need water before she leaves for work in the morning.

With a smile she turns out the last light, reflecting on her day, and then grinning at the one spot that stood out to her, meeting the head of security that Gwen hired. She had met Kessira the day that she came in for the interview and had immediately liked the femme, admiring how in shape she appeared to be.

Once Kessira was hired, she had quickly proven her worth to the company by catching a few furs trying to short HSE and their shipping concerns. It seemed that someone had tried to inflate measurements to pad pricing.

She shook her head, muttering, "Some folks will always believe that they can pull the wool over other fur's eyes." She then made sure her alarm was set and closed her eyes. Once asleep, her dreams feature the other femme quite prominently and with serious overtones of desire.

Kessira logs out of her terminal, yawning a bit at the end of a long day. She does smile when she sees the fur who covers the night shift for her, "Dwight, you rascal, what kept you so long?"

Dwight Daniels, a lanky Great Dane smiles and says, "Kids were giving Molly a hard time, and I had a bit of a time getting my beater running. Might be time to see if I can afford something newer." He then gives a barking laugh, "And you, Ghost, why did you feel it necessary to wait for me to come in?"

Kessira smiles at the nickname that she'd earned in her youth, "Just a feeling, Scratcher, been a bit too quiet as of late, and something has my hackles up. Keep your eyes open, and tell the rest to do so as well, might be something brewing that's aimed at us."

Dwight nods, "Aye, especially since we've been pretty immune to the locals trying to get involved in our business."

Kessira nods, wryly, "The local goons don't like being left out of the profits," she then gives a salute and clocks out, "Have a safe night, Scratcher."

Arriving swiftly at home, she tosses her keys into the bowl near the door, sloughing off the stresses of the day while slipping free of her clothes. Checking the time she sighs, "Too late to do any practicing tonight. Damn." She then fixes herself a quick microwave dinner and slides into her bed, the last thing going through her mind was the meeting she'd had with Veronica, before going into Gwen's office.

She liked the spunky hybrid and definitely admired her for working despite not needing to. A smile creased her muzzle, "Doesn't hurt that she's got curves in all the right places. I do admire a woman who isn't afraid to have a little extra padding, as long as it's not too much." She then snickers as she turns off the last light, "Would be just my luck that she prefers males.." And when her dreams start, they feature Veronica in many roles, each getting more explicit and steamy, reflecting Kessira's desires.

###

Groaning as he gets up, Vince smiles, remembering something of his dreams, "Well, this will make things interesting."

Padding to the shower, he turns on his computer, letting it warm boot up while he washes himself, grateful that his apartment seems to always have a plentiful amount of hot water. After drying himself off as best he can, the coarse hair inherited from his mother's side of the family helping immensely, he checks his email and is pleasantly surprised by a response to his ad, "DaeWynne . Sounds Irish, might be promising. Plays both Bass and Guitar, and isn't afraid to sing, sounds good. I'll program her number into my phone and call her on the way into work."

He does so, then shuts his computer down, getting dressed for work, remembering his knee brace, as he's been told he'll be on his feet a bit, learning the layout of the rooms where Evidence is stored. He also makes sure to put a pad in his back pocket for questions or notes to be taken. With one last look at himself in the mirror, he heads out, getting into his Jeep and heading into work, listening to the radio for anything that might make him late.

Arriving a few minutes early, he parks his car in a convenient spot, he gets out his cell and calls the new number he's programmed into it. When it's answered, he introduces himself, "Miss Wynne, this is Vince Panthris, you responded to my FursList ad last night?" Upon receiving an affirmative, he asks, "What time's good for you to meet up? I just got into work and I should be getting off around 6:30 pm."

Veronica's curiosity is increased by the politeness of this male, "Well, I'll be leaving work at 6, myself, perhaps we can meet someplace neutral where we can see if we'll be a good fit for each other?"

Vince nods then remembers she couldn't see it, "Fair enough miss, do you have a suggestion?"

She answers, "Well, I've heard good things about a bar near where I work, by the name of 'Open Season'."

He chuckles, "I've heard of it. Now, when would you like to meet, and how will I know you?"

She grins, "How does 8:00 PM strike you? Gives us both time to change out of work clothes. As for recognizing me, well, that shouldn't be too hard."

He blinks, then asks, "Why's that?"

She responds, "First, tell me your feeling towards hybrids.."

He blinks again, "No problems, as I happen to be one myself."

She gives a happy laugh, "Fair enough, good sir. I'm a Skunk Wolverine cross, though the only evidence of my wolverine mother is in my claws and teeth. My stripes loosely follow the pattern of a double-helix."

Vince murmurs, "Fair enough, and I'm a Cougar Raccoon cross, you could say I look like a bleach blonde cougar with sandy brown 'coon stripes, although I am just a bit taller than most. I look forward to meeting you, miss, and I hope that we can work well together."

She responds, "I, too, look forward to our meeting, sir, and I hope your day goes smoothly."

He responds, "As do I, fine lady." He then waits for her to hang up before heading into work, a smile on his muzzle.

Valerie notices and says, "Something good happen?," to which Vince nods.

"Hope so, Valerie, I hope so." He then clocks in and heads for the Evidence room and the fur who's going to be training him. As he rounds the corner, he's stunned to see Jo-Ann there. "Detective Procyon, is there something I can help you with?"

Turning around, she smiles, "No, I'm just harassing your boss here."

He returns the smile as she turns back to the dalmatian behind the partition, "All right, Spots, I'll see you the next time I have something for you to add to your collection." She then smiles at Vince, "Sergeant, do your best to learn from Detective Asher here, he's a good fur and knows his stuff."

Vince nods, "I'll do my best, Detective, and may your day go smoothly."

Jo-Ann smiles, mischievously, "And what fun would that be?" Taking her leave, and swishing her tail enticingly as she passes Vince, she adds "Oh, and Sergeant Panthris, welcome to the Precinct, I hope you stay with us for a while."

Seeing this, Detective Asher simply shakes his head and then looks at Vince, "All right, Sergeant, enough fun for now, got to get you started on learning this system right fast."

Vince, shaking his head after watching Jo-Ann leave, turns to the other fur and says, "And why's that, Detective?"

Clyve Asher responds, "Because the sooner I get you trained in this, the sooner I can take the vacation I've been meaning to take."

Vince laughs at this, nodding his head in agreement, "Fair enough, sir, where shall we start?"

As she arrives for work, Veronica has a smile on her muzzle, _"Looks like tonight might get interesting," _is her thought as she parks her car in her spot. Locking up her car, she waves to other co-workers heading in for work, joining the waiting crowd by the elevator and listening to the general atmosphere of those around her.

This, plus a few of her other habits, are things she picked up from listening to her brother and sister, both of which were policefurs. Her father had just recently retired from that line of work, and was enjoying spending more time with the family. She smiles to herself remembering the last chat she'd had with her mother, _"Seems as if dad's entered something of a second childhood, not that mom is complaining, except the fact that she's having a hard time keeping up with his enthusiasm."_

When she arrives at her desk, she deposits her purse down by her feet, turns on her computer and checks the mailbox for any new things that her boss should be alerted to. Seating herself, she opens up the mail program and checks there for anything new.

Once all this is done, she then checks on the meeting schedule for the day, nodding when she sees a note put in by Gwen: Don't forget that I'm dropping off the kids today, so I might be a few moments late. Veronica smiles, remembering being introduced to the Coona kids, _"I love how precocious those two are, and from what I've heard there're more family members to meet."_

Hearing someone walking down the hall, she looks up and greets Gwen as she comes into the office, "Good morning, Mrs. Coona, how are you today?"

Gwen smiles, "Pleasant enough, just got the munchkins settled in their classes and now ready for whatever this place decides to throw at me."

Veronica nods, "Don't forget you've got that ten am meeting with the new business who wants to hire us for shipping."

Gwen nods, smiling wryly, " I know, these meetings are needed, but, damn can they be a pain." She then enters her office, checking her plants before seating herself and warming booting up her own computer. She notes her schedule and then gets out her notes for the day, _"Great, another day of putting out fires and dealing with folks who couldn't buy a clue even if you gave them the opportunity to do so."_ She sighs and then presses the intercom, "Veronica, let me know when the furs for my first meeting are here."

She hears in reply, "Gotcha, can do."

Gwen then reviews the changes she had made to the companies she'd inherited she had made. First noticeable change was the fact they now resided in Seattle rather than Boston.

Second change was a marked increase in mixed breed employees. When she had first come into the role of CEO less than five percent of the work force had been hybrids or mixed breed furs, just barely enough to keep the EOE and other agencies out of her mother's hair. Gwen had remedied that, while also making sure that competency was rewarded, no matter the fur's ancestry.

Third change was more subtle, yet seemed the most rewarding for her, the furs working under her now seemed to actually enjoy the job and more often than not seemed happy with the work they were doing.

The last change, and the most important to Gwen, was that she felt that she now had a group of furs who trusted her judgment in running the business, and would come to her when issues arose.

Hearing a knock on her doorframe, she looks up and sees Veronica, "Yes?"

Veronica enters and, smiling, says, "This has nothing to do with work, but do you mind answering me something?"

Gwen tilts her head, then shakes it no, "Go right ahead, you've piqued my interest."

Veronica chuckles softly, "I'm meeting a fur later today, after work, and I wondered if you could tell me anything about the bar, 'Open Season'?"

Gwen nods, "I definitely can, Veronica. My husband tends bar there."

Veronica's ears perk, "Good place to meet furs?"

Gwen nods, "It's pretty safe to meet furs you don't know there. The bouncer's a big grizzly who doesn't take well to folks making trouble."

Veronica sighs with relief, "Good to know. The fur I'm meeting wants to start up a band, is he's looking for a bassist and a drummer."

Now it's Gwen's turn to look interested, "You play an instrument?"

Veronica nods, "Got a guitar, custom made."

Gwen nods, "Cool. Now do you have a name for this fur you're going to meet?"

Veronica nods, "Says his name's Vince Panthris, and from what I heard when he called me, he sounds a decent sort. I just wanted to double check on the place we're going to meet, so I know I'm covered if he's not all he seems to be."

Gwen nods, _"That's the name Jo-Ann mentioned, interesting. I'll call Rick and have him get a feeling for this fur also." _"Open Season's a good place, lots of good folks there. Plus it's a good venue to try if you're going to be playing in a band."

Veronica smiles, "Thanks, Gwen, you've set my mind at ease." She then heads out the door, "The furs for the ten o'clock meeting are on their way up."

Gwen nods, "Glad I could help, Veronica, and thanks."

Kessira, waking up after a restful night, stretches and then looks at the clock, _"Ten am, good enough for me, as I've the day off. Time to work out and practice while the neighbors are out and can't complain about the noise I make."_ With a smile she gets out of bed and pads over to her work out area and seats herself on the BowFlex™, setting the machine for the first set of exercises that she has planned.

Starting by limbering up, she puts herself through the motions of a very thorough work out, working herself up to her max weight limit for each exercise, pushing her limits to their max. She then does another set of flexibility exercises, this time working on making sure she's as flexible as possible, some of the positions looking painful to the uninitiated.

After that's done she wanders over to her drum kit, which takes up about a quarter of the available floorspace and seats herself, getting out a set of drumsticks. Starting her regular practice session, she gradually builds up the complexity and tone of her drumming, her tail hitting the custom bank of drums set up behind her as she adds layers within her drumming.

Once done she then pads into her bathroom, starting the shower as she ponders what to do that day, _"Do I feel like just staying at home, or going out and having fun?"_ Once the shower's adjusted correctly she goes about cleaning up after her workout, ridding her fur of the built up sweat and dirt. Stepping free of the shower she towels herself off;, grateful to her polar bear mother for the fact water doesn't stay in her fur long.

She then moves over to her dresser, intent on picking out something both comfortable and attractive, her mind set to having a good day of fun before heading over to go see her old friend Bruno at the bar he now works at, wondering how the big guy was doing.

Sitting on her bed, she puts on a little number she knows will garner her a lot of attention. The fabric of both top and mini skirt is a nice red which stands out nicely against her fur;, she has also picked out underthings of a similar color so as not to advertise too flagrantly. Slipping the top on over the bra, she settles it comfortably then works on the skirt, which has a special fastener that makes sure her tail helps keep the thing from slipping down and revealing too much.

Reviewing herself in the mirror, she smiles, "Now to go enjoy myself." She then gathers up the matching purse for the outfit, making sure she's got the essentials she'll need for the day. Assured that she has everything she needs, she heads out, hitting the lights and locking the door.

Leaving the precinct, Vince feels as if his head's stuffed full of all the details that Detective Asher gave him that day, _"At least you now know how things are organized down there."_ Getting into his car he reviews the rest of the day and decides to head home for a quick change of clothes, not thinking that there's enough time to do more than that before he has to leave to meet Veronica. _"I have to remember to keep a set of civvies in my car from now on, just in case something like this happens again, and for days when I need to practice with the band."_

After a quick change, brushing out his head fur to make sure it's behaving, he heads to the bar where Veronica said to meet, dodging around traffic while listening to the GPS that he put into his Jeep for this purpose. **/Turn Left in 200 Yards/** announces the mechanical voice, letting Vince know to get into the correct lane to make the course adjustment, "Shouldn't be too far now."

A few more turns and Vince pulls into the parking lot, finding a spot not too far from Rick's Prowler. He then locks his car and makes his way into the bar. Checking the time and seeing he's arrived a good five minutes early for his meeting, he finds himself a table within easy view of the door, despite the busy throng of customers.

Cassy steps up, asking, "May I take your order?"

He nods at the strikingly pretty bunny, "Certainly, miss, I'd like a club soda, with ice, please?"

Cassy nods, "Won't be too long."

He nods, then goes about fur watching, trying to get a feel for the crowd at Open Season. _"Good crowd here for a Thursday night, and it seems they've got the place set up for furs to do Karaoke tonight. Very promising."_ His eyes are then drawn to the entrance, where Veronica enters. Seeing her, he stands up and makes himself visible, smiling as he takes in the other hybrid, _"Definitely keeps herself in good shape."_ Once he sees her heading his way he moves to one of the other chairs by the table and pulls it out for her.

Arriving a few minutes late, Veronica is a bit flustered, "I hope he's not mad." She then gives her head a shake, "It's not that kind of meeting, I'm sure he'll understand that work comes first." Once she enters she smiles as she notices Vince standing up so she can see him, _"Well, he's right, he is a tall drink of water. Quite fit looking too."_ She then makes her way over to the table he is at, smiling at his manners, and seating herself in the offered chair, "Sorry I'm a bit late, had a last minute problem at work and didn't want to leave until it was solved."

Vince shakes his head, "I don't mind, I've had times when I've had to work past shift end."

Veronica smiles, "Sounds a lot like my family. "

He says, "How so?"

Right then Cassy brings Vince his drink, "And what would you like miss?"

Veronica thinks, "Could I have a Vernor's on the rocks?"

Cassy nods, "Be back soon."

Veronica turns back to Vince, "My folks are all policefurs, just knew that it wasn't for me."

He chuckles, "Yes, I'm a policefur, I'm just getting back to the job right now, after an injury."

Veronica nods, then smiles, "Now, to the topic which we came here to discuss. What sort of music were you thinking of playing?"

He smiles, then pauses as Cassy brings Veronica her drink, "I like mostly classic rock, though I have played jazz and country." He then takes a sip of his drink, "How about yourself?"

Veronica places a hand by her muzzle as she thinks, "Classic rock's a good choice, I've played that, blues, and a bit of folk music from Ireland."

While Vince and Veronica are talking, Rick is busy at the bar filling folks orders, but he does notice Vince, mostly because he's bigger than the average fur. During a brief respite he focuses his other senses towards the pair, _"Hmm, there is a feeling there, sort of like what Kass gives off, from the male. But the femme also has something about her as well. I'll have to ask Gwen if she's noticed anything."_

He waits for Kel to come by and gets her attention, "Kel, you noticed anything from that big fur over there?" He nods in Vince's direction.

Kel shakes her head no, "Cassy's been serving that area, and I don't know if I should unshield enough to see if there's anything special about him, why?"

Rick smiles, "Gwen called earlier, seems the Cougar over there's a new fur in Jo-Ann's precinct and he's caught her attention. Seemed he gave her two distinct impressions."

Kel nods, looking in Vince's direction, "And they'd be?"

Rick smiles, "First that she should bring him to Kass' attention, and the other being that he was something special to her."

Kel's eyes brighten, "He might be to her what Gwen was to you?"

Rick shrugs, "Possibly, but I would like to get a better feel for him before I go that far." He then gets out a new glass, cleaning it, "I'd like to get your feeling for him as well, if you can swing it."

Kel nods, "I'll see what I can do, hon."

Meanwhile Kessira has just stepped out of her car and is entering the bar, sashaying her hips as she sees Bruno.

Bruno, seeing Kessira, shakes his head, _"Ho boy, she's dressed for trouble."_ He gives her a one-armed hug, "Hey Ghost, been too long. What'cha been up ta?"

Kessira smiles at the nickname, "Nothin' special, Honeybear. Got a job with a good group of furs, and been settlin' down, lookin' to find a group of furs to play music with."

Bruno nods, grinning at her nickname for him, "I'll keep my ears open, happens a lot here, dis is a good place ta start."

Kessira nods, "Thanks, my friend. I'll owe you one." She then wanders into the crowd, swishing her tail behind her. As she passes Vince's table she recognizes Veronica's voice and listens in. _"Hmm, talking about a band. Didn't know she played, but this has a glimmer of working out in my favor."_ She pauses and says, "Hey Veronica, didn't expect to see you here."

Veronica starts when she hears Kessira's voice, since she's been concentrating on listening to Vince's plan, "Hey there Kessira, this is Vince."

Vince looks at Kessira and stands up, offering her his chair, getting another for himself, "Why don't you have a seat, Kessira?"

Kessira smiles at the gallantry, seating herself, "Sure. What'cha two talking about?"

Veronica grins, "Vince here put an ad on FursList, he's looking to start a rock band, but needed a bassist and a drummer." She takes a sip of her drink, "I play both guitar and bass, so I answered the ad. Earlier today he called me up and set up this meeting, I picked here because I had heard it was a good safe public place to meet furs."

Kessira nods at all this, "Very safe." She points over at Bruno, "My friend Bruno's the bouncer here. He and I grew up in the same neighborhood, so I know he's a capable fur." She then turns to Vince, "You may just have lucked out, you know?"

Vince tilts his head, "How so?"

Kessira smiles, "I play the drums, got my own kit at home." She then looks at both Vince and Veronica, "You said rock? Which variety?"

Veronica chuckles, "We were just hashing that out. We both think there's lots of opportunities with classic rock, good wide range to pick appropriate songs from."

Vince nods, then chuckles, "If this wasn't happening to me, I'd not believe it. Yes, classic rock is the genre, with a smattering of Irish Folk and livelier jazz pieces that we can manage." He then looks at the two femmes, "We've got a pretty distinctive looking group here. What do you think we should call ourselves?"

Kessira blinks, then hrms, "Well, we're all hybrids of one degree or another."

Veronica nods, "How does 'Twisted Pair' feel to you?"

Vince smiles, "It suits me. Pays tribute to the different species that came together to bring us into the world, plus it references the double helix of life." He then grins, "Plus Veronica here has it in her fur as well."

Kessira chuckles, "Has a good punch to it, I like it."

At this time Kel swings by, having asked Cassy if she minds if she gets a feel for the furs at the table, she asks "May I get you a drink?"

Kessira smiles, "Got any really gingery ginger ale?"

Kel nods, "On the rocks?"

Kessira nods, "Please?"

Kel smiles, "Cassy'll bring it by in a moment."

Kessira nods, "Thanks."

Kel then wends her way back to Rick, gathering several orders on the way.

Rick, seeing Kel come back from the 'special' table moves over to take her orders, "Well?"

Kel, after rattling off her orders, gathering them onto her tray, "The male's knee is hurting something fierce, but otherwise seems to be a good fur, the two femmes seem to be a match, I 'see' them being an item."

Rick nods, "Fair enough. I'll let Gwen know when we get home. Perhaps we can manufacture a way to get them all to CCN when Kass gets back ..."

Kel nods, "Don't the two femmes work for Gwen?"

Rick tilts his head, "I think so. I'll mention it to her tonight."

Kel nods, then gives Cassy Kessira's drink order, "For the ice white tigress over there."

_ Cassy brings Kessira her drink, smiling at the group, "Looks like an interesting bunch, perhaps we'll see them again."_

Kessira thanks Cassy and then turns back to Vince and Veronica, "I think Sundays will be best for all of us to practice on, though I think the first couple of sessions will be us hashing out the playlist and getting a feel for each others' styles."

Vince nods, "Sunday is my usual day off, and it shouldn't be too hard to get to wherever we decide to practice for me." He then smiles at the mention of styles, "I'm not sure if I have a musical style, per se, since I'm pretty much self taught, but one thing I have learned is to work well with a team."

Veronica chuckles, "I doubt that any one of us is that much of a prima donna." She then gets a thoughtful look, "As for places to practice, I think my place would be best. I own a renovated warehouse that I turned into residential,; have plenty of space to set up a studio to practice in and no worries about neighbors complaining about the noise." She then smiles, "Been meaning to build more into the damn place anyway, though the roof's pretty much already been taken over by my garden and an area for meditation."

Both Kessira and Vince blink at this information, the tigress speaking first, "Damn, girl, how'd you pull that one off?"

Vince chuckles, "Oh, I think I know the area she's in now, and if I remember correctly the city was trying to rezone the area anyway, letting folks buy warehouses and putting through the variances needed to change the zoning with expediency, or that's what my dad told me." He smiles, "Helps to have a real estate fur in the family, sometimes."

Veronica nods, "Aye, that's what happened. I'm on the edge of the area that they were rezoning and none of the adjacent buildings were bought at the same time. In fact the three that are nearest me have been demolished to make playgrounds and other areas for families to enjoy themselves. Gives me the bonus of not having any neighbors that can look directly into my place."

Kessira nods, "Sounds delightful. Well worth the renovation headache."

Vince nods, "And I know through work that the area's pretty well patrolled." He then looks at Veronica, "You've set up the existing windows so folks can't look in?"

Veronica chuckles, "Wasn't too hard, though I used quite a bit of my personal savings to spruce the place up, including insulating the whole damn thing. I prefer my creature comforts, and I don't want to pay for heating the barn if I can't keep it warm."

Kessira nods, "Sounds perfect. Though for the practice studio, I'll want to take up my share of the cost of building it."

Vince smiles, "I agree, even if what I may end up doing is providing a lot of the sweat equity of building it."

Veronica looks from Vince to Kessira and then sighs, "Fair enough, and I can tell that you won't be talked out of this. I do appreciate the sentiment and I think it's a sign that we'll work well together."

The three furs smile and shake hands before turning their attention to the folks coming up to sing at the Karaoke set up, content that they've come to an agreement that will suit them all.

Rick watches the three furs reach their agreement, "Looks like whatever business was being discussed was settled. And seeing as that tigress knows Bruno, I'm assured that it wasn't anything shady."

Just then Cassy hops up to the bar, "Rick, I'm going to need another club soda, Vernor's, and that special ginger ale, please?"

He nods, getting the drinks together, "For the table with the skunk and tigress?"

The bunny nods, "From what I was able to hear, they're forming a band."

Rick smiles, then nods, "That's right, Gwen did mention that."

Cassy chuckles, "Mixmaster Mike is losing it already?"

Rick sticks his tongue out at the cheeky rabbit femme, "All I know is she wanted me to get a feeling for the fur. Seems he caught Jo-Ann's eye at work and Gwen wanted me to put in my two cents."

Cassy nods, "Well, from what I've seen, the fur's a gentlefur, got good manners, and I'm guessing he's driving, since he's not ordered anything alcoholic." She then thinks, "He's also made sure the femmes that are with him feel comfortable with him. He's not made any advances toward either of them that I noticed, nor has he tried to be overly familiar with me."

Rick nods, "Good points, and I'll include them in my report to Gwen." He then shoos the bunny on her way, smiling as he sees Vince being encouraged into taking a turn at the mike, "Looks like it's going to be a fun night."

Vince, getting up at the encouragement of the two ladies, smiles, "May as well, after all, this is also to assure you I can sing."

Both Veronica and Kessira blush a bit at this, their muzzle fur fluffing, then look at each other and laugh, "Serves us right for egging him on," the tigress grins.

Veronica nods, "I just hope he doesn't turn the tables on us. I can sing, but I've never done Karaoke."

Kessira giggles, "If they have something I can get away with purring through, I'm game."

Veronica is about to answer when Vince takes his turn, singing a very impressive adaptation of Roy Orbison's 'Pretty Woman,' the big fur's voice well suited to the embellishments that the original fur put into the song.

Kessira also smiles at the sound of Vince's voice, "Well, I'll give him this, he can sing well, and his voice is good enough for the style we're working in. Not many furs can copy Orbison and pull it off."

Vince finishes his 'debut' to thunderous applause, "Thanks folks," he says as he exits the stage, making his way back to the table that Kessira and Veronica are at, a far away look on his muzzle for a moment. "I wasn't singing it for those two, though they're quite beautiful. The fur that came to my mind when singing it was Jo-Ann. I wonder why."

Kessira and Veronica congratulate Vince when he sits down, Veronica saying, "It looked like you had a special femme on your mind when you sang that ..."

Vince blushes, lightly, his muzzle fur barely fluffing, "Perhaps ..." He then brings out the list of songs available, "And perhaps you two should be thinking more on what you might like to sing, before I consider going back up there."

The two femmes laugh and say, nearly in unison, "We knew you'd ask us!" They then look at the list that's been brought to them, studying it and each picking out a song they think will suit each of them.

Veronica smiles and stands up, "I think I'll go next, after all, if I'm expected to do vocals occasionally, I should show you what I've got." She then makes her way up to the stage and punches in her request, getting in the line for the Karaoke machine.

It isn't too long before Veronica's turn comes up and she belts out a rather husky rendition of Heart's 'Barracuda' to the enthusiastic appreciation of the audience. Smiling widely as she bows and escapes the stage, she looks to the other two and sees their approval, both Vince and Kessira having stood up to give their applause.

Kessira smiles as Veronica seats herself, "Girl, that was impressive." She then smiles, "My turn, eh?" She smiles as the other two furs nod, "Just a warning, I haven't sung in ages."

Vince smiles, "No worries, Kessira, I don't think you'll do too badly."

Kessira nods at this and makes her way up to the stage, the lights highlighting her ghostly stripes, she then puts in her selection, waiting her turn up on the stage, her tail swishing with nerves. Once she's up there, she quietly sings John Lennon's 'Imagine,' her purred voice adding an extra poignancy to the melody, her eyes closing as she finishes the melody.

As she gets down from the stage, she finally notices that the whole crowd has gotten to their feet, applauding her and her choice of songs, her muzzle fluffing with embarrassment as she realizes it's meant for her. As she gets back to the table with Vince and Veronica, she looks down at her hands for a moment, trying to regain her composure.

Vince gently places a hand on Kessira's shoulders, "That was well sung, dear lady. You may not think your voice is that good, but I think any fur here would agree that that was quite well sung." He then guides her to her chair, "May I ask why you chose that song?"

Veronica nods as she also does her best to help Kessira to her chair, "I'd like to know as well."

Kessira looks from Vince to Veronica, "Thanks, both of you. As for why I picked that song. Well, it's got a bit of a story behind it. The main reason being that that song reminds me of my folks when I grew up."

Vince nods, "If it's too difficult to talk about, I do understand."

Kessira shakes her head quickly, "No, it's not that. Just remembering things from when I was a cub. My parents emigrated here, my dad from China and my mother from Russia. Each was fleeing persecution because of their species. Somehow they met each other on the boat here and fell madly in love." She pauses and then smiles, "Seems they got the captain of the boat to marry them. Once they came ashore they did get it officially recorded and found some place to settle, once here." She points to Bruno, "I grew up in the same neighborhood as him, which is the 'tough' side of town, and he was like a big brother to me, protecting me when I needed it, scaring off those who didn't like me being a hybrid. Never seemed to matter much to Bruno, or any of my true friends."

Veronica nods, "Mind if I ask which species they are?"

Kessira smiles, "My dad's a White Tiger and my mom's a Polar Bear. It's how I came by these 'Ghost' stripes of mine," and she traces one of the ones on her arms, "And they also gained me a nickname, Bruno was the first to tag me with it, but it's stuck ever since. He called me 'Ghost,' partly because of my stripes, but I think it was mostly due to my uncanny ability to fade into the shadows, despite my fur coloration." She then smiles, "As for the song, it reminds me of my wish that all the furs of the world could get along, no fighting over 'purity' of species or any other nonsense."

Vince purrs, "Impressive combination, Kessira." He then traces one of his own 'stripes,' "My mother's a Cougar and my dad's a Raccoon .. I got mom's size and coloration, with a hint of dad's stripes."

Kessira nods, then looks to Veronica, "Seems like the name for our band is well chosen, eh?"

Veronica nods, "Never knew my birth parents, though I know my dad was a Wolverine and my mom was a Skunk. I got raised by foster parents, a couple who couldn't have kits because their species were too different." She looks sad, "Part of the reason I have the funds I do is 'cause my parents were killed by Purists when I was about five."

Both Vince and Kessira look horrified, Vince speaking up first, "That's awful."

Veronica smiles, "Thank you, Vince." She then looks to both of them, "My foster parents were policefurs, and quite a few of my 'siblings' went into the force as well. I knew it wasn't for me, so with their blessing, I studied business and got the job at HSE, moved out here when Gwen took over 'cause there really wasn't much holding me there. I still chat with my adoptive parents regularly, but I know they're glad I'm doing something that makes me happy."

Kessira nods, "Sounds like your family loved you, despite the reasons you came to it."

Vince smiles, "If you ever feel the need to talk about it, I think you just gained at least two more ears."

Kessira purrs, "At least two more ears. You can count on me, if you need a shoulder, Veronica."

Veronica looks from Vince to Kessira and back, "Thanks you two, I'm glad I met you two even more now." She then gets out a pair of cards, "Here's my address, so you can find it, along with contact information." Handing them to Vince and Kessira she smiles, "Now I have an early morning ahead of me, so I think I'll call it a night."

Vince nods, "Same here. Learning the ins and outs of my new job at the precinct, and the fur in charge did say he'd be wanting to start early."

Kessira chuckles, "Well, today was my other day off, so I need to be checking in with the folks that report to me." At Vince's expression she chuckles, "I'm head of security for the same company Veronica works for."

Vince nods, "Fair enough, Kessira." He then stands up and does his best to assist both femmes to their feet, "I hope you both have a good night and sweet dreams to you both."

Kessira laughs at the gallantry, "I shall wish the same to you, Vince."

Veronica smiles, "May your night be filled with pleasant dreams, and may your 'morrow be filled with happiness."

Bowing to both femmes he then says, "If I may lead you out to your vehicles?"

This earns him a chuckle and Kessira's saucy reply, "Only if you think your dancing is better than mine!"

Veronica laughs at Kessira's sally, "Why don't we just wend our ways to our vehicles and then make our way to our homes, this night has already had enough cheese, methinks."

Vince shakes his head, admitting defeat, "Fair enough, fair lady, and may the hours 'til we next meet be filled with happiness and good spirit." And saying this, he leads the way out of the bar, making his way to his trusty Jeep, noting idly the cars the two femmes had. Kessira getting into a well worn Crown Victoria and Veronica seating herself in one of the new Minis.

With a sigh of happiness he heads home, falling asleep soon after his head hits his pillows, unbeknownst to him, the two femmes having similar reactions, each of their dreams filled with music and images of happy furs.

_**End of Chapter 1. ^_^**_


	2. Trouble Brewing

My thanks to Rick Coona and his alter ego, Joe Martelle, for their kind permission to write this story in their universe. Their comments and encouragement have been instrumental in bringing this story to life.

George Woodrow 4 - 2009

Kassir Ujinkhan, Joe Fenris, Carol Fenris, Jeff Salters, Michelle Musteline, George MacInnes, Tim Johansen, Bill Richards, George Leonis, Phil Leonis, Leona Felis Leonis, Lynne Smyth, Michael Pardis, Christine Uncia, Karl Ursiris, Richard Kassir Charles Procyon, Kelso Gwenwyfar Procyon, Janice Lynne Ujinkhan, Alexander Kassir Ujinkhan © Chuck Percy

Rick Coona, Gwen Smith Coona, Kacy "KC" Coona, Kirk Otterman, Mike Ferretti, Cassy Bhunny Ferretti, Max Badger, Kath Badger, Bill Badger, Ted Badger, Bruno, Lupé Carlotta, Panda Phil, Jo-Ann Procyon, Charles Procyon, Marcus Procyon, Jack Canus, Esmerelda Smyth, Richard Coona, Helen Coona, Max Coona, Sally Coona, Kacey Kelso Coona, Richard Randolph Coona, . © Joe Martelle

Vince Panthris, Veronica Dae Wynne, Kessira "Ghost" Tigris, Valerie Vulpes, FursList, FurMail, Dwight "Scratcher" Daniels, Molly Daniels, Clyve "Spots" Asher, Purity Spices, Janice Wyld, Albert Wyld, Petty Officer 3 Fenrir, Claire Kurisawa, Petty Officer 3 Dwight Lupin, Petty Officer 3 William 'Wild Bill' Strynger, Petty Officer 3 Tymoth Edwards, Petty Officer 2 Annalisa Snowpaws, Lieutenant Mykhail Friedrich, Geoffry Oceanis, Annette Oceanis, Sylvia Oceanis, Stevie, Cliff, Malachi, Zeke, Deke, The Children of the Pure Moon, Wylde Longstride, Reginald Blackfeather, Blake Paguma, Miz Swenson, Sylvia Paguma © George Woodrow 4

Any resemblance to any person or fur, living, dead, or fictional is coincidental and unintentional.

All rights reserved

**Chapter 2: Trouble Brewing**

Pulling into the protected garage attached to Casa Coona North, Rick reviews his day. "Honey, I'm home," he calls out as he comes in the door, wondering who might be up, besides Kelso, who had beaten him home.

"I'm in the kitchen, hon," replies Gwen, "Just got done helping Kel feed Janice and Alexander."

Rick nods, "Did she tell you anything yet?"

Gwen smiles, "Yes, she was able to fill me in on how Jo-Ann's friend feels, from a Healer's perspective. She also mentioned that some of the training Kass gave her added information about the other two, even if it's a vague thing."

Rick chuckles, "Fair enough. I did get a good feel for Vince while he was there. First I tried with my normal skills, and he came across as feeling like Kass, but less intense."

Gwen nods, "Go on, and I know part of Kass' intensity is how thorough his training was."

Rick gives an amused smile, "True. As for doing a deeper scan, it's a good thing this was a Karaoke night, and the crowd wasn't as intense as a BOTB night. Vince definitely should be brought to Kass' attention, as I sensed he would do better with that sort of training, despite being a police fur. Something about how he sung, when he took his turn, led me to think he's inclined to Shamanism."

Gwen nods, "Did you notice anything else?"

Rick nods, "Veronica has an aura around her, very similar to Kel's, but when I did the deeper feel, it felt like the entity Kass calls up from 'Mother Earth' as a Guardian."

Gwen nods, "Kel did mention something about Veronica 'calling' to her, but she wasn't sure what. I thought it might be part of the pain that femme carries with her."

Rick tilts his head curiously, "Pain, what sort of pain?"

Gwen grimaces, "Veronica's parents were killed by purists when she was five. They left her a pretty sizable trust fund, but the hurt of losing them as she did still lingers."

Rick grumbles, "Another survivor of those assholes, eh?" He then sighs, "You ever get an inkling off her?"

Shaking her head no, Gwen responds, "Never had a reason to. Thankfully the general atmosphere at work's been pretty positive. I think I'll manufacture a reason to invite both her and Kessira here on an upcoming weekend."

Rick nods, "Aye, the third of that odd group." He then smiles, "Let's just say that if she decides to take up training, I'll be the one gaining an apprentice."

Gwen gets a startled look on her muzzle, "Three new magick users, and they're forming a band." She then shakes her head wryly, "I hope they'll all opt for training, no matter how much extra stress it brings."

Rick looks curiously at Gwen, "Why's that?"

Tapping the side of her muzzle, Gwen says, "Imagine if they had a breakthrough on stage, in front of a crowd!"

Rick gets a horrified look on his muzzle, "Great heavens, that could end up being catastrophic!"

Gwen nods, "Especially since it appears all three mesh in some way." She elaborates, "If one had a breakthrough, it could trigger the other two."

Nodding, Rick smiles, "The hard part will be convincing them that we're not crazy and that they'll need the training."

Gwen replies with an amused look at her mate, "The Hard Part indeed, my procyon prognosticator."

# # #

Jo-Ann smiles as she enters through CCN's door in the morning before Gwen and the rest have to go to work, checking in and dropping her kits off so Gwen can take them to HSE's daycare facilities, "Good morning folks, just popping by with little Richard and Kelso."

Rick draws the femme in, hugging her to him, "And I'm sure that you're not the least bit curious about what we learned about that interesting fur at your precinct?"

Laughing, Jo-Ann responds, "All right, you caught me!" She then teases, "You sure you don't want to try your hand at my job? You'd make a great Detective!"

Rick laughs at this sally, "Quite sure. I only do it with friends." He then ushers her into the kitchen, "You have breakfast yet?"

Jo-Ann shakes her head, "Not a full one, forgot to get breakfast supplies the last time I went shopping."

Nodding, Rick moves into the kitchen, "I'll fix you up an omelet and fill you in on what we've found out so far."

Jo-Ann pulls up a chair and smiles, "Kass has taught you a few tricks with those, hasn't he?"

Rick nods, "Yes he has." He then goes about preparing the omelet, speaking as he does, "First off, you're correct, Kass should be made aware of Vince, there is something about him that's very similar to Kass when we first knew him."

Tilting her head curiously Jo-Ann responds, her body language indicating her level of interest, "Fair enough. When's the spotty one going to be coming back this way?"

Rick laughs at Jo-Ann's little nickname for Kass, "Should be by next weekend, last I heard, this latest batch of trainees have been doing well." He then serves her the omelet, "Seems Vince is looking to start up a Classic Rock band, and gathered two of Gwen's employees to him as the other members."

Jo-Ann blinks at this, "Sounds interesting. I know the guy's doing well in the Evidence room, seems like he's got a knack for remembering where stuff is stored."

Rick nods at this, "Anything else about him that comes to your mind?"

Thinking for a moment, Jo-Ann replies, "Just that Spots, the Detective down there, mentioned that it seems that Vince wears his body armor, no matter what."

Rick gets a thoughtful look, "Any thoughts on why he'd do that, hon?"

Shrugging, Jo-Ann replies, "Well, I know he was a beat cop before he got himself hurt running after a perp. Depending on where his beat was, it might have been prudent to leave his home wearing protection, even in plainclothes."

Rick nods, "Figured as much, and by now it's pretty much a habit that he doesn't question, it's just part of his routine."

Jo-Ann nods, a chagrined look on her muzzle, "Police furs do tend to pick up habits that stick through their life." She then looks at Rick, "It's why I added that plaque to my room here, it added another trigger for me that I was 'off duty'."

Remembering the '10-42' plaque Jo-Ann brought with her one day, and remembering that that was also the number on her condo, the one she said her Dad had helped her find, Rick nods, "How is your dad doing, anyway?"

Jo-Ann beams, "Oh, enjoying life. Seems that being separated from the attitudes that were brewing at home has done a world of good for him."

Nodding, Rick says , "I wish your folks would reconcile their differences, especially since there's new relatives to introduce."

Jo-Ann nods sadly, "It's their own fault. I've tendered the olive branch, which started my own path to healing the hurts that are there." She then grins, "Pops, on the other hand, adores his grandkits and doesn't mind watching them when I ask."

Rick nods, grinning, "He's more or less adopted mine and Gwen's kits as well. Makes it easy to find someone when 'Grandma Kath' is busy."

Remembering having been introduced to Katherine Badger back before Gwen had had her kits, Jo-Ann wonders, "Where does that woman find her energy? I do hope one of her boys finds someone soon, so she can concentrate on fussing over them."

Rick smiles, then checks the time, "You'd better scoot so you get there on time. I'll make sure the kits all get to the daycare." As Jo-Ann puts her plates away, he mentions, "Oh, and Gwen said that a week after Kass gets home we're scheduling a big barbecue, so if you can use your wiles to get Vince to attend, it'd be a bonus."

Jo-Ann gets a speculative smile on her muzzle, "Thanks for the head's up. I'll see about inviting him. Perhaps Gwen could invite the other two here."

Making shooing motions, Rick smiles, "I'll talk it over with her, I think she's already got something planned. Now you go off and make things safer for us all."

Jo-Ann gives Rick a jaunty salute and then, grinning, scampers to her car and heads in to work.

# # #

Groaning as he gets out of bed, Vince stretches, working the kinks out of his frame, wincing only when he comes to his right knee, _"Feels stiff, hope that doesn't mean it's going to rain."_

He then gets up and pads to the shower, reviewing the previous day, _"All right, seems like the day did end on a high note. Got two potential members for the band, and judging from our conversations yesterday we have similar tastes in music. We'll definitely be striking up on the stage. I know my stripes 'glow' under certain types of light, and I bet Kessira's do to. Veronica's coloring may change under the effects of light as well, we'll have to play with that."_

Getting into the shower, Vince finds himself wondering when the next chance he'll get to speak with Jo-Ann, _"Why is that femme so on my mind? I __know__ I sang the song I did last night because I was thinking of her, and I know I put a little something extra into it as well."_

As he finishes his shower and grabs his towel, he finds himself going over what he's learned so far about his new job, _"I never realized just how much work was involved in keeping track of Evidence. Though, from what Detective Asher has told me, I seem to have a knack for remembering where things are located, once I've found them the first time."_ He then smiles, remembering the Dalmatian Detective, reminding Vince to call him 'Spots.'"

He then gathers his clothes for the day, putting on the light Dragonscale armor that he had purchased for himself out of his paycheck, checking it to make sure the plates in it hadn't shifted. _"Bless my old Captain, he had come up from the street and knew it was trouble, and he knew the beat I was heading into. He convinced me that getting this stuff and wearing it even when I was in plainclothes or off duty was worth the money and effort. Seeing how the old Lynx limped from his old wounds led me to believe him."_

Getting into his uniform, he checks his appearance and then turns out the lights, locking the door as he exits. Traveling down to his Jeep he makes note of some seedy looking characters hanging around the block, _"If I get a chance, I'll mention it to Jo-Ann, if not, I'll make a report to the Captain. I don't like the look of those furs, and if the drug trade's moving to my neighborhood, I'm going to do my best to nip it in the bud."_

Merging into traffic he makes his way to work, arriving a minute after Jo-Ann does. Calling out, "Detective Procyon! Might I have a moment?"

Turning and then smiling when she sees who it is, the Raccoon femme says, "Sure, Sergeant Panthris, what's on your mind?"

Vince catches up to Jo-Ann, returning the smile, "Well, I'm going to mention it to the Captain too, but it seems that there's a bunch of seedy looking characters setting up shop near my apartment. I didn't get too good a look at them, since once they saw my uniform they made themselves scarce."

Jo-Ann nods, walking in with Vince, "Well, I'll mention it to the higher ups in Narcotics, might not be anything, but it's worth checking out. Thanks."

Giving a shrug, Vince responds, "No problem, Detective." He then smiles, "If we can't work together, the bad guys win."

With a chuckle for the words, Jo-Ann says, "Too true." She then turns to him, "If I'm not out doing reconnaissance, do you mind grabbing lunch together?"

Vince shakes his head no, "No, I don't mind. I'll let Detective Asher know. Say about one thirty pm?"

"Works for me. And say hi to Spots for me," and then with a saucy swish of her hips, Jo-Ann makes her way to her desk.

Shaking his head and smiling fit to split his muzzle, Vince responds, "Will do, Detective, hope to see you at lunch," he then makes his way towards the Evidence room, unaware that Jo-Ann had stopped to watch him, a small smile on her lips.

# # #

Kessira has just punched in for her shift, the new electronic system adding a level of security for her. _"No one saying they got in earlier than they punched any more. Damn paper tickets allowed folks to fudge their hours something fierce."_

She then wends her way to her office, where she logs into the system and checks for any new alerts since she last checked. She kept her Blackberry with her, so that she could keep appraised of things quickly. _"Nothing major, but that doesn't mean there weren't any problems."_ As she scans the reports she takes inventory of what's incoming. _"All right, we've got Saffron coming in from India, Cinnamon from Sri-Lanka, Tea from China, and a new firm bringing in Sugar. Hmm, Scratcher didn't like the fellow who showed up. Seemed they were pretty shifty seeming, didn't want to have any interactions with anyone obviously a Hybrid. Great, just what I need, a Purist prick in charge of delivering us stuff we need. I have to bring this to Gwen's attention."_

She then picks up her phone and puts in Veronica's extension.

Veronica, already hard at work, notices the incoming call from Kessira, and picks it up, "Yes, Kessira? You need something?"

Picturing the Skunk / Wolverine hybrid sitting behind her desk, Kessira speaks, with a smile Veronica can hear, "Yes, Veronica, just need to schedule a few moments with the Boss. Dwight noticed something about the new shippers that should be brought to her attention."

Veronica chuffs, "Oh, them," she replies with a hint of disgust, "Yah, I'd say Dwight noticed the same thing I did. Prissy bunch didn't seem too happy to be near me. I'll see if she's busy, can you hold a moment?"

Kessira answers, "No, I don't mind, it is important."

"Right you are," Veronica then places Kessira on hold and presses the intercom button, "Boss?"

Gwen tilts her head up from the reports she's reading at the bleep of the intercom, "Yes, Veronica?"

Veronica continues, "Kessira on line two. Seems Dwight noticed more of what I caught up here and Kessira wants to discuss it with you."

Rubbing her eyes a moment, "Thanks Veronica, I'll get her report now." She then disconnects the intercom and picks up line two, "Gwen here, Kessira, you needed to talk to me?"

Kessira, keeping a light tone, "Well Gwen, I came across the notes Dwight made yesterday about those new shippers, the ones that got us such a good deal on the Sugar."

Gwen grumbles, "Yes, I know which ones you're referring to. What were Dwight's notes?"

With a slightly grave tone, Kessira replies, "It seemed quite important to the fur that no 'lesser' breeds be allowed in his vicinity. Had a real attitude problem whenever he caught a glimpse of one of the more obvious hybrid workers we have."

Gwen sighs, "So he might be a purist idiot, doesn't mean his business is bad, it just means he's an idiot. I do want you to keep a close eye on their shipments, however. I don't trust how low his prices are. He's beating the competition by a margin of ten percent, in a commodity that doesn't see that much fluctuation in price."

Kessira sighs as well, "All right, Gwen, I'll beef up the inspections and let the others know to look out for anything out of the norm. Did we tell them of our inspection policies?"

With a grin Kessira can hear, Gwen replies, "I didn't specify how frequently the containers would be inspected, nor the thoroughness of said inspections."

The tigress snickers, her reply reflecting her appreciation of her sneaky boss, "Good, because we're going to ramp up inspections for this quarter, I'm going to post a notice to our regular shippers, mainly to see if there's anything they know about our new clients, but also to let them know that 'due to market conditions, an increase in vigilance is required.' The managers I know in those companies know what that means and will let their folks know."

Gwen chuffs, "Aye, I've met with them, they're pretty sharp, and the seeking of information on Purity Spices will alert them to the fact that there's something afoot that they should have an eye out for as well."

Kessira sighs with relief, "Thanks boss, I just figure I'd give you a heads up."

Gwen smiles and says, "Thanks for the heads up, I do appreciate it." She then chuckles, "Oh, by the way, my mate and I are having a barbeque the Sunday after next, do you think I could convince you to attend?"

Blinking a moment at the topic change, Kessira says, "I think it sounds delightful. I'll have to see if the new friends I made yesterday would mind coming too."

Gwen grins, Loki dancing in her eyes, "That would be Miss Dae Wynn and a Mr. Panthris, right?"

With a startled purr, Kessira says, "And how do you know that?"

Gwen chuckles, "My husband's a bartender at Open Season, and he saw you three there. Believe me, we're going to do our best to get the other two to attend."

Kessira laughs, "Fair enough. Seemed almost magical how you knew, though."

Gwen smiles, "No, just a well trained husband." She then looks at the time, "Well, time to get back to these blasted reports, hope your day goes well."

Ending the report on a happy note, "Same here, Boss, happy hunting." She then closes the connection and heads out to the main security room, where a wall of monitors keep an eye on all the various holdings for the Smyth Spice & Pharmaceuticals Company, as well as Harcourt Shipping, the cameras set at points so that their coverage overlapped enough that if one of the cameras went down, it wasn't a blind spot in the defenses.

Arriving at the monitor room, she nods to the two furs stationed there, "Jessica, Albert, anything to report?" The Hedgehog and the Civet smile, then take up a list, "The warehouses down at the East Pier need maintenance on their cameras and security system. Seems someone tried to breach the alarm system. Fortunately the backup came up without any problems and the furs trying to gain access were caught."

Making notations of her own, Kessira responds, "I'll call up the camera and maintenance folks, I'm glad to hear that the backup worked. Guess it pays to have a back-up that isn't visibly wired on the outside. Go on."

The hedgehog femme, Jessica smiles, "The firewall has caught several new attempts to hack into our systems, our rotating password system seems to be foiling even the most persistent."

Albert, a strikingly patterned Civet, takes up the challenge, "Our warehouse security system has already paid for itself, in saved product, but it seems as if those who want to take that which does not belong to them are attempting to rise to the challenge presented by our security."

Kessira nods, "I'll mention it to the boss in my next report, good job you two." She then smiles, "Now here's a heads up, you know the new Spice company we just signed?" The two furs nod. The ice white tigress continues, "Well, I'm going to be beefing up the security on the warehouses that their shipments end up in. In fact, do you think it would be possible to allocate a single warehouse to store all their stuff in?"

Accessing her computer, Jessica says, "Well, Warehouse number fifteen is already empty, so it shouldn't be that hard to add extra security to it. Any particular reason why we're keeping a close look at them?"

Kessira nods, "Yes, first off is that they're managing to undercut their competition by ten percent. That raised a red flag with the Boss."

Tapping his muzzle in thought, Albert questions, "What sort of extra security are you thinking about, Kessira?"

Kessira smiles, "First, I want to make sure each camera has redundant systems. Next I want to double up on the locks on the doors. Lastly I want to make sure the interior security is beefed up."

Jessica takes notes on all this, "And how are we going to explain these changes?"

Smiling wickedly, Kessira says, "We're prototyping a new system of secure storage."

Albert nods, with a soft chuckle, "And the other reason we're keeping an eye on these furs?"

Kessira sighs, "They appear to have Purist leanings."

Both Jessica and Albert look shocked at this, then look to each other, "So they wouldn't be too happy with us, would they?"

Shaking her head no, Kessira responds with a firm, "But **I** have no reason to be less than happy with you or your performance." She then smiles, remembering how the two had met. Albert had come with the company when it moved and Jessica was a new hire. _"And once they set eyes on each other, it was surprising there were no sparks flying, they get along so well and compliment each other very well."_

Jessica smiles, "We'll keep an eye peeled, Kessira, and we'll also spread the word to the security crews."

Albert nods, "Any other new business we should be aware of?"

Kessira shakes her head, "No, at least not right now. The only other thing I have on my plate is making sure this place keeps running smoothly."

The couple nod and turn back to their duties, Jessica making a note on her Blackberry of all the changes just discussed, and then formulating an email to be sent to the other security team leaders.

Kessira, smiling as she leaves, puts her mind to other business, which includes how to beef up security without running up costs high enough to overcome the profit made from sales, one last thought running through her mind, _"It's amazing how each security shift is staffed by a mated pair. I'm not going to look gift horses in the mouth, though, since it works out better for us in the long run to have it be that way."_ She then pads quietly along the hallways, getting an earful of the general atmosphere of the business, another facet of her job, and not one she always enjoys performing.

# # #

Seated at his desk at Base, Kass grumbles as he reviews the latest batch of trainees about to graduate from the SCAT classes. He looks at the pile of already completed profiles, noting he was mostly done, it was this last trainee that was giving him fits. He studies the profile before him, carefully, making notes mentally, _"Let's see, Petty Officer Fenrir. Good marks from his other trainers, though it seems he has a bit of an attitude when it comes to taking orders from non-canines. Last review noted an improvement in that regard, seems one of his trainers had a good long talk with the wolf."_ He then sighs, rubbing his forehead, remembering his own feelings from dealing with the Petty Officer, _"My reading of the fur tells me he's trouble. Not evil per-se, but definitely not a force for good. His aura really spiked when he saw myself and Kelso together. If I didn't know that we do a pretty good screening against such, I'd swear this guy was a Purist."_ He then hits his comm, "Chief, if you have a moment, I'd like to get your opinion on a trainee."

His Chief, Salters, responds, **/ Aye sir, be right in;/** before closing the comm. The wiry Sea Otter enters and salutes, "You wanted to see me, Sir?"

Kass returns the salute, "Aye, Chief." He then brandishes Petty Officer Fenrir's profile, "What's your take on this fur, Chief? And don't hold back any gut feelings about him either."

Chief Salters takes the profile, and gazing at it, gives his Snow Leopard Captain a wry grimace, "You would ask me about this piece of work, sir." He then taps his muzzle, briefly, "First impressions were that he was going to be a handful. He's just not your normal sized fur, and I was dreading the effect his mass would have on the SCAT."

Nodding, Kass thinks on the trainee, "Aye, he is a big fur. Go on, Chief."

Chief Salters nods, "He did seem to get along with most of the other trainees, though, thinking back, I now notice he always stayed on the opposite side of whichever room or exercise he was in from the obvious hybrids in this group."

Kass grimaces, then rolls his eyes, "This just gets better." He thinks of the two hybrid furs in this batch of training, one an Otter/Tiger mix and the other a Ferret/Dhole mix. Both trainees taking to the SCAT as if born to do their job.

The Chief says, "He would work with them, but, again, looking back, it always seemed as if he was trying to get the evolution over and completed so he didn't have to stay close to them."

Kass nods, "So you noticed that too." He makes a notation on his review of the fur, "I really hope this doesn't mean the screening process needs to be looked over again, but I am getting a feeling that, in this case, something slipped through the cracks."

Grumbling, Jeff states, "I hope not, Sir. But I won't take bets against it either."

With a wry look on his muzzle, Kass agrees, "I'll make a report to the higher ups, if what we both think happened occurred, the witch hunt will be memorable."

Jeff nods, then hands back the profile, "I'll get you a copy of my observations to include with your report, Sir. Figure the extra ammunition can't hurt."

Kass nods, "Good idea, Chief, why don't you get on that?"

Jeff salutes, "Aye, Sir." He then turns and exits, closing the door behind him.

Kass sighs and ponders his next move, _"Do I risk bringing the big guns in on just a hunch? First step is to get the Navy's investigation group to do a more thorough check on Fenrir's background, making sure that no inconsistencies are overlooked. I don't trust the background that I see here, it doesn't mesh with what I've observed of the fur."_ He then picks up the phone and punches in the extension for the Navy's Criminal Investigative Service, when it's picked up, he identifies himself, "Captain Kassir Ujinkhan here, could I speak with someone in investigations?"

The response from the other fur is quick, **/One moment, Sir, let me connect you./**

Kass waits a few moments on hold, then gets to the fur he needs to speak to, "Captain Kassir Ujinkhan here, I've got a potential issue with one of my trainees." He waits for the other fur to get their pad ready, "Name: Lance Fenrir, Species: Grey Wolf, Rank: Petty Officer 3, Trainee number: Alpha Zulu Eight Foxtrot Golf Five Five Sigma X-Ray."

He hears a response, "I consider this high priority, I suspect the individual to have gotten past the normal screening methods and may be a hazard not only to his fellow trainees, but to the Navy as a whole." He hears a response, "You'll have both my report and that of Chief Salters as soon as possible, enumerating our observations. I want a thorough background check, down to any groups he attended in school ..." He nods to himself as he hears the response, "I'll be passing this information up my chain of command as well, so if clearances are required, I foresee little trouble in acquiring them." He then grins at the final response, "Let's just hope I'm being overly sensitive, or else this is going to be a headache. Have a good day." He then hangs up the phone with a growl, "Scratch that, it already is a headache."

Looking at the clock he sighs and begins typing out his report, detailing everything he's observed about the fur in question, noting dates, times, places, and any other possible pertinent information. He also includes any complaints brought to him by the other trainees or instructors, plus any other data that might prove useful. He hears a bleep of incoming email and smiles when he sees it's Chief Salter's report. He attaches that and his own report in an email to .gov, along with the names of the furs he spoke to to start the investigation.

Once that's done he sighs and pushes himself back from his desk, rubbing his forehead, _"This is one of the downsides of Command. I'm definitely looking forward to this Leave I'm due for. Hope this investigation doesn't screw things up too badly there."___He thinks back to the call he got from his wife, _"Seems there's a new fur who's caught Jo-Ann's attention. Interesting. And she thinks I should meet him as well. Should make for an interesting time on Leave."_

Checking the time again he gets to his feet and stretches, "Time to inspect the troops. This break in the training shouldn't be too bad, and it does the furs good to be with their families this time of year." He then gets his cap and exits his office, gathering up Chief Salters on his way out, he grimly says, "Let's get this over, I'm looking forward to spending a little time with my family," to which the sea otter nods enthusiastically.

As Kass walks to the trainee barracks he's going over the checklist of what he's looking for, and mentally reviewing what is in store when he returns from leave as well. _"Nice of the Navy to cease this training when the waters out there are cold enough even Jeff feels it. Not that they'll be any warmer when we return, but this is the worst part of the season. I will say this, this batch of trainees has been a joy to teach, watching them take their turns at the SCAT lessons has been amusing, so far, and fortunately no one's managed to scuttle one of them this time. I just wish that there wasn't the issue of that Wolf making me think something is going to go sour damn fast."_

Following Kass, Chief Salters goes through his own list of things he's looking for, and getting out the requisite form, starts putting in the relevant information. He too is looking forward to going home and seeing his family, his oldest will be on leave from Annapolis as well, following in his father's footsteps. _"And I hear rumors about a femme who's caught his attention. Good thing he decided not to go into SEALs, then. Kid's a crack shot, and looks to be shaping up pretty well for his chosen MOS. Never would have thought Carrier work would have appealed to him, but it seems to be suiting him well."_

As they enter the trainee barracks, they hear a booming 'At-ten-shun' coming from the other lupine: a Petty Officer 3, one Dwight Lupin, who somehow managed to do all that the SEALs required of him, despite being big enough to make Fenrir look small. _"And that's no mean feat. I do know that whichever team Dwight ends up on, they will treasure him for the jewel he is. The kid's definitely a natural at this."_

Smiling as he says, "At ease, trainees. This will be your last inspection before we take leave for the holidays," Kass surveys the group, mentally cataloging their strengths and weaknesses. _"Dwight: His size is his biggest weakness, and he's good enough it shouldn't be an issue; Lance: Attitude and unwillingness to work with certain furs, by all the bright Powers, I hope I'm wrong about you; Petty Officer 3 William 'Wild Bill' Strynger: Wild streak, very competitive, but damn good scores. I may recommend him for Black Ops, he's got the right psyche for it; Petty Officer 3 Tymoth Edwards: I know he's headed for covert ops, this kid's just way too good at eeling himself into position and eliminating his targets with a minimum of fuss; Petty Officer 2 Annalisa Snowpaws: Very driven, and determined. I definitely respect her, and I believe she'll set a sterling example for letting femmes do this kind of work; and finally Lieutenant Mykhail Friedrich: Fine officer, and learns well. I like the fact he's willing to do this as a simple trainee rather than with the officer's rotation, he'll be one who can command furs to do things for him, simply because he's willing to get his paws dirty along with them."_

As Kass begins the inspection, he goes through with a rehearsed speech, "All right, furs, let me remind you, there is no discussion of what you're learning here with your family, and if you are taking any study material home," he pauses to add to himself, _"Like any fur determined to pass this training should,"_ moving to inspect one of the bunks, "remember to keep it secure and unavailable to any unauthorized eyes." He looks into the nearest trainee's eyes, "I know you feel you can trust your families, but because of the nature of what we do, this is not to be discussed with anyone not in the training itself, do I make myself clear?"

The trainees, as one, shout, "Sir, yes, Sir!"

Kass smiles, "Good. Now I know that Stores has signed out six secure lock boxes and laptops, so I am pleased to let you know that once we return, we shall move onto the next phase of training, which will include real world operations and may include running simulations against other teams of furs who have already passed this class." He smiles broader at the gleams he sees in all the eyes turned towards him, "So, study hard, make sure you read up on all the material there, and hopefully when you return, what happens won't be a pop quiz."

After inspecting the last bunk he turns to the trainees and says, "Trainees, Dis-missed!" He then chuckles to himself as the trainees get the gear they're taking with them together and head for the mess hall to eat before boarding the flight back to the mainland. Kass could hear, faintly, the crew getting the C-130 ready for flight, his own gear already stored aboard, he turns to Chief Salters, "You ready to go, Chief?"

Jeff nods, "Aye, Sir, I am. And I bet my gear is in the same place yours is. Shall we eat something before boarding, Sir?"

Kass chuckles, having seen another Gunny sack in the secure Locker on the plane when he had availed himself of the same facilities, "Good idea, Chief. Oh, and just a heads up, I made my report about our lupine trainee, so you may get a call when home."

Jeff nods, gravely, "Thank you, Sir. I'll keep my work phone close to me, then."

The two furs then make their way to the mess hall, where they eat just enough to tide them over for the flight, experience telling them that if they over eat, they could run into trouble with turbulence on the flight. Kass noting both the Lieutenant and Petty Officer 2 following the same example, while the Petty Officer 3s had all loaded up their plates, _"Though with those two wolves, that __might__ be just a small snack, they certainly don't seem malnourished with the food they serve here."_

Kass' attention is not really on what he's eating, it was more on the planned rendezvous with his 'Family' ... Rick and Gwen; Mike and Cassy; Kelso; and Jo-Ann; plus the kits, Richard and Kacey Coona; Kelso and Richard Procyon; and his own twins, Janice and Alexander. He smiled, remembering when Tigermark had let him know Kelso was expecting, he had been quite stunned to say the least, _"Though I'm glad Straga Nona didn't decide to kick things up past twins,"_ he thinks privately to himself. Then, finishing his meal, he heads over to the plane, checking in with the maintenance and flight crews, seeing if there was to be any delay, or if things were go as soon as all the furs got on it, "Thanks, guys," he says to the maintenance crew, most of whom he knew would be catching the same flight, a skeleton crew staying on to keep things running, all of the remaining crew were, surprisingly, all one family, a group of Sea Otters who maintained the island for the Navy. He sought one out, "Geoffry, I'd like to again thank you and your family for what you do."

Geoffry Oceanis, shakes his head, "Me an' ma folk's glad ta do tha' service, Sah. I won't kid yah none, tho, Sah, it does a body good ta hear feedback from ta folks we doin' dis fah." He then extends a paw to Kass, "Since yah took over heah, Sah, things hae been getting bettah, an it seem ta folk who come heah hae been behavin' temsef mighty proper."

Having read reports of some of the occurrences that happened before he had accepted command of this base, Kass nods. There had been a couple cases of trainees overstepping their bounds and making a nuisance of themselves with a few of the unattached members of the Oceanis family. He then grins at Geoffry, "We're your guests here, and it's in our best interest to behave as we'd like you to behave if you were visiting our home. All it took was to ask the trainees how they'd want their family to be respected to get the hint across," he then smiles grimly, "Plus a boot applied liberally to those who couldn't take the hint."

Chuckling at Kass' words, Geoffry says, "Ayah, Sah, an me sistahs appreshiate ta change as well. Tho, struth is, one of ma sibs is thinkin' on enterin' yah Academy, once she graduates. She's already been takin' the pre-screenin' tests, Sah."

Kass smiles, "Well, I hope she gets in, which one is she? I might be able to point a few furs in her direction, if you know what she wants to study."

Grinning proudly, Geoffry states, "Annette, an she's wantin' to do what yon trainees are doin', me thinks."

Kass nods, remembering seeing the femme watching the recruits, a hungry look on her muzzle. He also knew Annette was one of the 'accidents' that had occurred before he had taken command, Annette's mother, Sylvia, was Geoffry's sister, had the misfortune of running into one of the trainees at the time seeking comfort that was supposed to be sought within the Naval offices on the base. One thing had led to another, and Sylvia had found herself with kit. The trainee in question never denied what happened, but Sylvia chose to raise the child on her own, with the help of her family. The Tiger / Sea Otter mix was a stunning melding of the two species, and seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, "I'll mention her to the recruiters, if you wish. I think she'll do better than most of the folks coming in blind. She's seen some of what's required and knows it's hard work."

Geoffry smiles, "I'd like that, Sah, she be needin' some fur ta watch fer her."

Smiling happily, Kass nods, "Consider it done, Geoffry, and I know how having a mentor can help. I'll pass the word, and I think I know a good fur to be her mentor."

Geoffry beams, "Thankee, Sah, takes a load off mah mind that do."

Offering his paw, Kass smiles, "Glad to help, Geoffry, in fact it's a pleasure to do so."

The Sea Otter takes the proffered paw and shakes it, "Still apreshiate it, Cap'n. Not many folks would take tha much interes' in thin's lahk tha."

Kass smiles, "The mentor should be contacting her mother shortly, once I get things started."

Geoffry nods, "You go home tah' tha spouse of yous, Cap'n, hae a good rest befah comin' back to work."

Smiling, Kass nods, "And you go have fun with your spouse, Geoffry, and say hi to your kits for me, won't you?"

Chuckling, Geoffry gives Kass a mock salute, "Aye, Sah, ah will do that." He then waves as he takes his leave, heading back to his home on the island.

Returning the wave, Kass heads for the C-130, grateful to be already prepared. On his way to the plane he notices a pair of the trainees heading for the plane as well, smiling to himself he times his arrival to be the same as theirs, "Petty Officers Lupin and Snowpaws, good to see you're able to get yourselves together quickly."

The two salute, then Petty Officer Snowpaws speaks up, "Sir, I don't know about this big guy here, but coming from a large family, I have learned the benefits of being able to pack the essentials quickly." The Snow Leopardess then chuckles, "Made it more likely to get a better seat in the family vehicle. Stragglers always got the 'way back' seat."

Dwight speaks up after the Snow Leopardess, the timbre of his voice sounding as if there's a thunderstorm looming, "Sir, me famly wer nomadic sorts, true Gypsy sort. Me trick is tah ne'er unpack more'n wha chu need fo the tahm you is plannin' tah be dere."

Kass nods, "Good solutions, both of you, and at ease. Now why don't you both find as comfortable seats as this plane has to offer."

The two trainees comply happily, nodding hello to Chief Salters who is already aboard. Kass then takes a look out on the island and nods, happy with how he finds his life, though wishing he was a bit closer to his wife, _"Kel's gonna pounce me when I get home, there's no doubt she's missed me almost as much as I've missed her. I look forward to the hot tub and time spent with good friends, it's been too long."_ And with that, Kass settles himself down close to the Locker that holds his possessions, waiting for the other trainees to arrive.

# # #

As Kass deplanes the 757 that brought him and Jeff from Honolulu to Seattle, he waves to the Chief, "Say hi to your family, Chief. Perhaps soon we should all get together and have a good barbecue, your family and mine."

Jeff thinks a moment, "Well, having met that energetic vixen of yours, I can bet the rest of the bunch are quite amazing as well. I'll talk to my wife about it, and see what we might be able to set up." 

Smiling, Kass nods, "Fair enough, now I'm keeping you from your family. See you when I see you, Jeff."

The wiry Sea Otter nods and waves as he makes for where he knows someone's waiting to pick him up.

Kass, on the other hand, after collecting his luggage, starts heading for where the Taxis are lined up. However, halfway there, a sight over to one side of the terminal stops him. Shaking his head as he sees a male raccoon dressed up in a chauffeur's outfit, he changes his direction, smiling as he sees no one else from CCN in evidence yet. He then calls out, "Rick, how'd you know when to be here?"

The raccoon smiles upon hearing Kass' salutation, "A little foxxie told me." He then grins widely, taking in the snow leopard's attire, "Same one who told me you'd change before arriving."

Kass blinks, then shakes his head, "Can't surprise her again, can I. I don't know how she did it, but she must have convinced Jeff to give her some sort of heads-up for when I'd be arriving."

Rick laughs, "Kass, my friend, if you want **my** opinion on it, Jeff got all the convincing he needed the first time he ever saw Kelso shoot."

Smiling wryly, Kass nods, "Probably the last argument about it went out the window when that happened, I'm sure." He then gestures with his luggage, "Seeing as you went the whole nine yards, let's continue this to the end zone, that being CCN."

Laughing at the sports lingo, Rick nods, "Did you get our messages?"

Kass nods, "About the fur who's caught Jo-Ann's eye? Yes, I did. Must be some specimen to turn her head like that."

Laughing, Rick smiles, "I can tell you my feelings on the fur on the ride home. Plus the feelings on the other two furs that he seems to have grouped up with."

Tilting his head, "Grouped up with? That sounds intriguing."

Rick nods, then leads Kass to the Phantom 3 Rolls Royce that was waiting in the designated spot for limos. "Seems the guy's trying to start a rock band, and the other two members, at least so far, are employees of Gwen's."

Kass hrms, "Sounds like an interesting grouping, to say the least." He then looks at Rick, "Are the other two furs 'interesting' in other ways than the obvious?"

Chuckling, Rick helps put Kass' stuff in the trunk, "Well, other than the three being obvious hybrids? I'll tell you on the way home."

The snow leopard nods, taking that to be a 'yes' and that this was definitely more of a conversation for private consumption, "Interesting indeed." He then takes the passenger seat next to the driver's, to make conversation easier.

Rick nods, then gets behind the wheel, starting the vehicle and listening to the engine purr like a contented kitty before easing carefully into the stream of traffic. After successfully navigating the way out of the Airport, the raccoon picks up the conversation again, "To get back to what we were discussing, yes, there were several things that were interesting about all three furs. Firstly, Jo-Ann's interest definitely feels similar to what you did when you first came to Open Season, though his focus seems musical in nature."

Kass nods, "That would be Vince Panthris, right?"

Smiling, Rick nods, "He's a Cougar / Raccoon mix."

Tilting his head at Rick, Kass states, "That's a pretty striking combination there, and the other two?"

Rick grins, turning onto the road that leads to CCN, "One's a Wolverine / Skunk mix, and it seems the other's a Tiger / Polar Bear mix, both femmes."

Kass blinks, "Damn, those three sound pretty striking." He then looks at Rick, "We still planning the barbecue next weekend?"

Rick nods, then carefully parks the Rolls Royce, "Aye, and all three have been invited." He then leads Kass inside, "Honeys, we're home!"

From the kitchen echoes from three femmes, "We're in the kitchen, hon!"

A moment later, barely a heartbeat or two, a red and cream missile hits Kass, Kelso wrapping herself around her husband, who has just enough time to drop his stuff and brace himself for the low flying vixen missile, "Hey hon, missed you tonnes!"

Kelso, on the other hand, seems determined to make up for the months away from him as soon as possible, murmuring, "I missed you so much!" She then grouses, "Wish the Navy had told you before hand that you'd be spending so much time away, hon."

Kass pats Kelso's head, "I know, my love, I know. It's horribly unfair. We've another year plus before this is done and over. I like command, but I love you, my sweet vixen!" He then sneakily gooses her, causing Kelso to yip and shift her grip, which, incidentally, allows the snow leopard to settle himself into a chair, "And where are the kits?"

Arriving a few moments after Kass has settled himself, Gwen and Jo-Ann walk in, Kacey and Richard following their mother, Ricky and Kel following theirs, each mother carrying one of Kass' kits, Gwen bearing Janice and Jo-Ann bearing Alexander, "Ask and ye shall receive, Kass," says Gwen.

Kass' eyes light up, smiling as the two older sets of twins come up and give him a hug, each saying, "Welcome home, Unka Kass!" He frees a hand so he can hug them each back individually, marveling in how much they seemed to have grown while he was away.

# # #

Kessira pads around the office building where Gwen's office is located, lost in thought. She is thinking about what Gwen asked her, and thinks it wouldn't be a bad idea. She starts when she bumps into Veronica, then smiles, "Hi there."

The wolverine / skunk hybrid smiles, "What'cha thinking about, Kessira?"

Kessira purrs, startled into a laugh, "Gotta invite to a party at Gwen's place in two weeks, on Sunday."

Nodding, Veronica smiles, "Aye, I got my invite earlier. I think you'll like it there, the amount of love evident there is quite astounding."

Tilting her head Kessira purrs, "Sounds like you've been there before. Could you tell me what to expect?"

Veronica smiles, "A couple of times, yes. Mostly to enjoy the hot tub Gwen has there, after a hard day. Saving up for one of my own, right now." She then taps her muzzle, "As for what to expect? I'm not sure, as I've never been to one of their barbecues. I do know that the Coonas are Naturists, though they do provide robes for those who are body shy. Though the robes are not allowed in the hot tub or spa."

Kessira blinks, then her muzzle fluffs as she blushes, the color quite evident through her fur, "I don't think that'll be a problem ... though I may need to get used to them before I fully join them."

Veronica nods, grinning, "It took me a few visits to get comfortable with the concept, myself. But the Coonas are so understanding that it helped put me at ease and feel comfortable with them."

Nodding, still trying to control her blush, Kessira smiles, "I heard that they're gonna try and invite Vince too."

Veronica giggles, her muzzle fluffing a bit as she thinks a bit about Vince, but her mind is more on seeing Kessira there, "I hope he comes, he's a good fur."

Kessira nods, "Yes he is." She then does her best to compose herself, "So I guess you're going?"

Veronica nods, "Most definitely. This'll be my first chance to meet the whole gang."

Smiling, Kessira purrs, "I'm going as well, I could use a dip in a hot tub, myself, plus I'd like to meet Gwen's family."

Veronica giggles, "I think you'll like 'em, Kessira, they're quite an unusual bunch, from what I hear."

Kessira blinks, "What d'you mean?," she queries, "How unusual?"

Grinning fit to split her muzzle, "Well, quite a few different species will be evident, and there will be a few hybrid kits to be introduced to, from what I'm told." She thinks, "There's Gwen's kits, and apparently there's a pair of Snow Leopard / Fox kits as well. Plus a pair of Raccoon kits, who come with Gwen's to the Daycare."

Kessira nods, "I've seen Gwen's kits, as well as the twins she brings with her." She giggles, "Little scamps keep their minders busy some days, but they're always good about stopping when they're told to."

Laughing, Veronica nods, "Aye, they are little scamps, and quite loved by their family."

Giggling, Kessira smiles, "Well, I look forward to seeing them in their natural habitat."

Veronica nods, "See you there, my friend."

# # #

As Vince is leaving the precinct he runs into Jo-Ann again, "Did you need something from me, Detective?," he asks curiously.

The raccoon femme nods, "Forgot to mention it earlier, but a couple friends of mine are planning a barbecue the Sunday after next, and they asked me if I knew anyone I'd like to invite."

Vince nods, then blinks, "So, you're inviting me?" The hybrid sounding a bit startled.

Jo-Ann nods, "I'd like you to meet my friends, and I think I can tempt you with the fact that they have a hot tub."

With a purring chuckle, Vince nods, "Very tempting indeed. My physical therapist did recommend spending time in a hot tub to help alleviate the arthritis that's creeping into my knee."

Smiling, Jo-Ann nods, "And several of the furs know massage too."

Vince growls with pleasure, "Then count me in, though I might have to explain to the two furs who I talked to last night."

Jo-Ann laughs, "Something tells me you won't have any problems there, Sergeant."

Tilting his head Vince looks at Jo-Ann, but doesn't ask the obvious question, "Anything I should bring?"

Jo-Ann taps her muzzle, "Musical instrument, if you have one, though just coming is enough."

Vince's muzzle fluffs slightly, "Anything I should be warned about, before I go there?"

Smiling playfully Jo-Ann nods, "The hosts, the Coonas, are Naturists. They do provide robes for those who are body shy, but they're not allowed in either the hot tub or sauna."

His muzzle fluffing more, Vince nods, "Good to know." _"I shouldn't have a problem with that, though the sight of Jo-Ann unclothed may prove to be quite enticing."_

Jo-Ann smiles at the fluff, and then says, "I look forward to seeing you there, Vince."

Vince smiles, "As do I, Jo-Ann, as do I." He then makes his way to his car, shaking his head so he can collect his thoughts before hitting the road.

# # #

While Vince and Jo-Ann are talking, several scruffy canids are congregating outside his apartment door.

"Stevie, is dis da place?" asks one, a very large wolf, his unkempt fur not disguising just how thin he is.

Stevie, another gaunt wolf nods, "Aye Cliff, 'tis what we got from da 'partment manager."

The third wolf, seeming to be a bit better fed mutters, "We gotta sho that Scumbreed Fuzz that we own dis turf, not him."

Stevie nods, "Aye Malachi, We sho him good." He then looks at the last two of the motley group, "Zeke, Deke, get your mangey hides over here an open dis door for us."

The twin wolves nod as they're addressed, and when they come into the light, it is quite evident that they're not as 'pure blood' as the other three, "Sure boss," they say in unison.

Malachi smiles, "We dun take nothin' dis time, we jus let him know dat we is in charge here, not him."

Zeke and Deke have a bit of difficulty getting through Vince's door, and they trigger his alarm system, which is a silent alarm so as to give the police more time to apprehend those entering the premises. The rest of the crew file in and start making a mess of the kitchen, the bedroom, and destroy Vince's library of sheet music, using it to leave a message.

**Watch yourself, Scumbreed, The Children of the Pure Moon owns this place, and we don't like Fuzz nosing into our business. Best move for you is to leave before you get hurt!** Is scrawled with a large Sharpie™ across the front page of the only book of music left intact, a book of folk tunes based off the songs of feral wolves.

Malachi nods as he surveys the damage then barks, "All right, let's scatter before some one comes to investigate."

The rest nod, and say, "Got it, Boss, see you back at the Den." They then each take their own way out of the building, meeting up at one of the neighboring apartment complexes. One thing obvious about this one, however, is that all the tenants are canines or lupines.

# # #

As Vince is starting his Jeep a patrol officer races out and then yells, "Sergeant Panthris! Wait!"

Vince blinks and then shuts his vehicle down, "Yes, Officer Wylde?"

The Ocelot stops close to the Jeep, "We just got an alert, the alarm at your place just went off!"

Vince blinks, then utters a curse that makes the other fur blanch, "Seems I was right in alerting the Captain about the unsavory types near my complex."

Wylde Longstride, nodding at Vince's words, purrs, "We've sent a patrol over, once the scene's been secured we're going to be letting you go home and see what's happened."

The cougar / raccoon hybrid nods, "Glad you caught me, Wylde. And I'm even happier I set the alarm for 'silent' when I'm out. I hope we catch a break and apprehend the fur who broke in."

Wylde nods, "Must be real desperate types, to break into a policefur's place."

Vince nods, then, locking his Jeep up, heads back into the precinct, running back into Jo-Ann as he does so.

Jo-Ann looks like a localized thunderstorm as she walks with Vince and Wylde back to the Captain's room in the precinct, "Vince, the patrol just got there. Your place has been pretty thoroughly trashed, though it doesn't look like they took anything."

Nodding as he walks beside the grumbling raccoon femme, Vince sighs, "As long as they didn't harm anyone, it doesn't matter. The rest is just objects, they can be replaced."

Wylde nods, "Just take it easy, Vince, it's still an intrusion and a disruption to your life."

Jo-Ann smiles at Vince's words, then grumbles, "Vince, you're gonna love this. Seems you got targeted 'cause you're a hybrid, and 'cause you spotted those furs this morning."

Vince blinks, "Bloody hell," he growls, then looks at Jo-Ann, "Jo-Ann, you realize what that last might mean?"

The Ocelot walking with them grumbles, "It means there might be a leak in the system."

Jo-Ann nods, "And we don't know who it could be, if there is one. They could have noticed your interest in them this morning, Vince, and decided to deal with you because of that."

Sighing, Vince nods, then he enters the Captain's room, seating himself as he awaits more news of the break-in.

Jo-Ann seats herself next to Vince, "Once you're done at your place, do you have some place you feel safe staying?"

Vince shakes his head no, "Not really, Jo-Ann. I do know I'm gonna be packing as much as I can, letting the forensic furs deal with the evidence." He then sighs, "I hope they didn't damage my guitar, would be hard to replace that, especially since the original manufacturer got bought out."

Jo-Ann nods, then smiles, "Well, if you feel you can trust my motives, I am willing to share my condo, Vince."

Wylde chuckles, "You'd be a fool to turn that down, Vince."

Blinking in surprise, Vince nods, "I believe I'll take you up on that, Jo-Ann." He then stands up when the Captain comes in.

Captain Reginald Blackfeather, a massive Cougar of Native American descent, waves everyone back down to their seats, "Vince, I'm gonna be blunt here. Your place got trashed quite well, it appears there were at least five furs, all wolves." He then accesses the other notes he's received, "Seems this group calls themselves 'The Children of the Pure Moon', and they feel you're a threat to their operations, which seems to run in that neighborhood."

When the captain says the name Vince growls, Jo-Ann looks ready to kill something, and Wylde looks tired. Vince is the first to speak up, "Bloody Purists again? Haven't they gotten the message that their type of behavior isn't what society wants or needs?"

Jo-Ann grimaces, "Doubt it, sounds like this batch is Lupine or Canine centered, though." She then turns to the Captain, "Wasn't this one of the groups that Annette found?"

Captain Blackfeather rumbles, "Sounds like an offshoot of something she found, yes. I'll send a message that we've found a group of suspected Purists, with the name, and see if it sparks any interest."

Vince nods, "Thanks, Captain. Any word on what got trashed?"

The Captain looks at the list he's gotten, "Well, let's see." He taps the list and then rumbles, "They destroyed everything edible in your kitchen, for starters," moving his claw to the next item, "You're going to have to get new bedsheets, but they seemed to only have concentrated on what was on the bed already," he then looks at the next item, "And all of your sheet music is destroyed, though it appears your guitar was left alone."

Vince nods, sighing at the list, "Fair enough, and all relatively easy to replace, just annoying." He then thinks of something, "Captain, how'd they know that it was my apartment? The landlord of that place is pretty determined to protect his tenants' privacy, not even our mail drop boxes have our names on them."

Wylde blinks at this, "You think they might have watched you leave your apartment?"

Shaking his head no, Vince rumbles, "It's a possibility, but I have gotten a pretty good sense for being watched. I didn't see any of the folks who caught my attention until I had already started leaving the parking area."

Jo-Ann nods, "So, best have the patrol start looking to see whether or not someone was bullied into revealing the info."

Reginald nods, "They're already interviewing the neighbors, to see if any of them got a glimpse at the perps." He then turns to Vince, "Is there anything you absolutely need from your apartment? And do you have some place that you can stay until the investigation's over?"

Thinking, Vince taps his muzzle, "Other than my guitar, all I need are my clothes. As for a place to stay, Detective Procyon has offered a spot in her condo, and I am taking her up on her offer."

Reginald nods, looking at Jo-Ann for confirmation of this, "Sounds good to me. I'll have the patrol pack up your stuff, so you won't have to go home. We're going to be setting up a stake-out there, to see if we can catch any further attempts at intimidation." He looks at Vince, "One of the furs we're selecting looks a lot like you, at least from a distance, he's currently getting a dye job so he can do the best job possible."

Vince nods, "Thank you, Captain. I can offer the use of my vehicle, if you think it'd add a level of believability to the cover."

Thinking, the large Cougar morph looks at the information already at hand, "Might be best, Sergeant, we want them to think nothing's amiss for as long as possible."

Vince fishes out his spare set of keys, "Here's my spare set, Captain."

Reginald takes the proffered keys, "We'll provide you with something out of the motor pool for personal use while we have yours, Vince. I do appreciate that you're willing to make this sacrifice, and will compensate you for the use of your vehicle."

Jo-Ann smiles, _"Let's see if you ever move back to that apartment of yours, my handsome friend. And I wonder how you'll react to the twins. I think they'll like you,"_ "Shall I take him down to the motor pool, Captain?"

The cougar nods, "I'll call down and let them know you're coming," then he winks, "And I'll let them know to steer you away from the clunkers we use for stakeouts."

Shaking his head Vince chuckles, "Having driven a few, sir, I do appreciate that." He then gets up and gestures for Jo-Ann to show him the way, "After you, Detective."

Jo-Ann stands up and smiles, nodding to the Captain as she leads Vince out of his room, "Good thinking, letting them use your Jeep, Sergeant, not many furs would think of that, or be comfortable with doing it, for that matter."

Following close behind, Vince shrugs, "Made sense to me, plus if it does get totaled, it's replaceable, won't be easy, but it's just a car." He is doing his best to keep his mind on what's happened rather than the attractive raccoon femme he's following, "And by getting something from the motor pool, I'm not putting you out by making myself dependent upon you to get me around."

Jo-Ann giggles, _"Who knows, I might like having a big strong male dependent upon me for his needs," "_I appreciate that, Vince, I really do." She then leads him out to the fenced in motor pool, a good portion of the vehicles stored within unmarked police cars, though there were a few cars that had been seized and were awaiting their turn at being auctioned off.

The Civet Sergeant looks up from his paperwork as he hears the two approaching, smiling as he sees the attraction between the two of them, he calls out, "Detective Procyon, what brings you down to my humble abode?"

Smiling at the Civet, Jo-Ann says back, having moved within easy conversation distance, "Sergeant Paguma, I'm bringing Sergeant Panthris here to acquire a loaner vehicle. I'm sure the Captain's called down by now and informed you of what's happened?"

Blake Paguma nods, "He certainly did, Detective." He then looks at Vince, sizing him up, "I do have a few vehicles that the Sergeant here will fit into easily, though one's a bit flashy, if you don't mind me saying so."

Vince smiles, "As long as it is reliable, I don't care much. My Jeep's getting on in years, yet if you treat it right, it'll survive most anything you throw at it."

Blake nods, "Come this way and I'll show you what's to be had." He leads the other two furs into the covered portion of the motor pool, several cars residing there, "Now most of what we've got are Crown Vics, of course, with full interceptor package."

Vince nods, "Yah, I can fit in 'em, but most times they're a bit cramped."

Grinning, Jo-Ann follows them, taking advantage of being able to watch Vince without him being aware of it, "Most car manufacturers don't build for big furs, at least in the sedan line."

Turning back to look at Jo-Ann, Vince grimaces, "And don't even bother if there's a Sun Roof or Power Seats, they take away much needed head room."

Blake nods, "Well, that leaves our seized stock. Most of what we've got is made for tiny furs, it seems. There's a few here that even I can't squeeze into." He then leads them to the last bay, "And here's our flashy number."

Vince turns the corner and gasps at what he sees, "A 1973 XB GT Ford Falcon Coupe? How in hell did that get to the states?"

Jo-Ann blinks, "What's so special about that thing?"

Blake and Vince look at each other, then Vince says, "You ever see the movie 'Mad Max,' Jo-Ann?"

Jo-Ann thinks, then looks at the car, "Damn, this thing's a near replica of the car from the movie. All it's missing is that evil looking blower."

Blake nods, "This thing was seized from a bunch of Purists back a while, now. We own the title to it and everything, just never got around to auctioning it off."

Vince pads to the door and then slips into the driver's seat. His surprise at the comfort and space is evident to the other two furs, "I think I'll be safe with this one, Sergeant Blake. In fact, you may just end up losing her to me if I can manage the cost."

Blake laughs, "You know you're the only fur to think she's worth having? As for the cost, all you'd have to pay would be a grand, which is the storage fees we've accrued keeping her here. Everything else is taken care of, except changing the title and getting your own plates for her."

Jo-Ann shakes her head at the nonsense over a car, but realizes that it makes Vince happy, and it shows her another facet of his personality.

With a raised eyebrow Vince gets back out of the vehicle, "Well, I think I'll wait a little bit before jumping into ownership. Though she does qualify as a Classic, I'd want her as my daily driver, and I know I'd go over the 3k miles per year allowed for registered classics." He then looks at Blake, "I will, however, take her off your paws until the investigation at my apartment's over. Do we have plates I can use, for now?"

Blake nods, "Come this way and we'll fill out the necessary paperwork that's needed to get Black Beauty into your care."

Vince blinks at the name, "She's been named already?"

Nodding, Blake says, "There's a plaque in the trunk, with name, vin number, numbers of all the parts, and every step that was taken to import it into the states. The furs that had it were mainly using it as a show car, but she wasn't a Trailer Queen."

Jo-Ann looks lost, "Trailer Queen?"

Chuckling, Vince responds, "A classic car that's trailered everywhere its taken, keeps the mileage ultra low, and keeps wear and tear to the car to a minimum." He then looks back at the vehicle, "Some furs go to extremes when dealing with choice classics like this one. Such as making sure any repair parts have matching numbers," and before Jo-Ann can ask about that, "Means that the parts have to be from the same year and model as what's being repaired, can get quite pricey if you have an ultra rare vehicle."

Jo-Ann nods, though her eyes seem to be glazing over at this minutiae, "If you say so, Vince. It's over my head, at least."

Blake draws Vince's attention back to the paperwork, getting all the details lined up, including a copy of Vince's Driver's License and Insurance, "There we go, Sergeant Panthris, all yours." The Civet then pulls out a set of plates that start with 'SG', "these should do you until you decide whether or not you want to purchase her."

Vince nods, then goes about affixing the plates in their brackets, "Anything else I should know?"

Blake shakes his head, "Only something you should already be aware of; damn thing's a gas hog at the best of times."

Shaking his head in resignation, Vince turns to Jo-Ann, "Care to lead the way to my temporary home, Detective?"

Jo-Ann laughs, "I'll pull my car up so once you've gotten your way out of here, I'll be ready to play 'Follow my Leader'."

Vince nods, then gets into the classic car and fires her up as Jo-Ann leaves to get her car. The noise of the engine makes Vince purr, since it sounds like a very happy large cat, _"Black Beauty indeed, I can see this car as being a very happy black panthress."_ He then carefully extracts the car from where it was held, the rumble attracting a bit of attention as he nears the exit from the motor pool, several of the younger officers shaking their heads as they admire the car as it exits into the courtyard, despite the dust that lingers on it from its time in the motor pool. He then sees Jo-Ann in her car, waving at him, "All right, let's go 'home', shall we?" He waves back, indicating that he's ready to be led and pulls in behind Jo-Ann's car waiting to exit the precinct parking lot.

Jo-Ann smiles as she sees Vince pull behind her, _"I'll take the shortest route, makes sense and we can play another time."_ She waits for the light leading out of the precinct to turn green, then eases her way out, making it easy for Vince to follow her, keeping to the 'slow' lane of traffic where appropriate, taking Vince the easiest way to her Condo complex, a quick phone call, using hands-free, alerts the security team at the condos of the fact Vince will be staying with her for a bit, and what his car looks like, so they don't get antsy.

Pulling into the parking spot next to Jo-Ann, Vince looks at the complex that Jo-Ann calls home, _"Wow, impressive place here. I wonder how she got it, as I know a policefur's budget is kinda tight."_ He turns off the car and locks it up, pocketing the keys as he does so, "Lead on, Jo-Ann."

Smiling fit to crack her muzzle, Jo-Ann swishes her tail as she leads the way to her condo, unit 10-42, and unlocks the door, "Welcome to my humble abode, Vince." She perks her ears, listening for any sign that Gwen had dropped her kids off, and is pleased to hear light chatter from their room.

Vince, entering the condo and shutting the door behind him, perks his ears at the chatter he hears, then remembers something Clyve told him, "Why don't you call your kits out so we can get introductions over?"

Jo-Ann laughs, "I see Spots told you I had children, right?" She then raises her voice, "Richard, Kelso, I'm home, and I've got a friend I'd like you to meet!"

Hearing giggling rustles, Vince puts on his best 'I'm a gentle fur' expression and awaits the incoming kits with a feeling of curiosity, _"It doesn't matter to me that she's already got kits,"_ he then blinks at that thought, muttering to himself, "Now why did I think that?"

Richard exits the room he shares with his twin sister first, clad in a robe that he knows his mom wants him to wear when there's company. He stops as he spots Vince, then, judging as only a child can, does a credible running pounce of the larger fur, stating, "Hi there, Mister!" when Vince manages to catch him, Kelso following at a slightly more sedate pace.

Jo-Ann giggles at the display, "That's Richard Kassir Charles Procyon you have in your hands, and his sister is Kelso Gwenwyfar Procyon." She beams at her children, "Kids, this is Vince Panthris, a colleague of mine. He's going to be staying with us for a little while."

Richard giggles as he's held, "Hewwo Vince! You mus be a good fur for mommie to bwing you home."

Kelso nods, shyly, though the care she senses from the big fur is quickly putting her at ease, "Hi there, mister Panthris," she says quietly.

Vince smiles, his voice gentle, "Hello little ones. I hope I'm a good fur, I wouldn't want anything to hurt you two children, or your mother here."

Jo-Ann smiles, "Okay you two ragamuffins, back to your homework, dinner will be ready soon enough." She playfully shoos the twins back to their room, the kits giggling madly as they go back to the reading they were doing.

Smiling, Vince stretches back upright, several of his joints popping as he does so, "You've got cute kits, Jo-Ann, and I can see they're well loved." As he stretches to relieve any last kinks that may have snuck in, he thinks to himself, his muzzle fluffing just slightly, _"If what I feel comes true, I look forward to hearing them call me 'daddy' … I can't shake the vision of myself and Jo-Ann walking down an aisle together, and wedding bands being exchanged. I definitely wouldn't mind if that became a reality."_ He then looks around, "Mind if I help with dinner?"

Shaking her head no, "I never turn down help cooking, especially when it's volunteered the way you just did." She notes the slight fluff of his muzzle and sets the question aside for the moment, _"I wonder what he's thinking."_ She then leads the way to the kitchen, "And this way I can tease you about knowing how to cook."

Vince laughs at this, "Learned from my mom, she always said; 'If you want to meet a nice femme, you have to know how to do more than eat, sleep, and fix things'." He says this last while shaking his index finger at an imaginary fur.

Laughing loudly now, Jo-Ann smiles, "Sounds like an amazing femme." She then gets out a skillet, "I was planning on stir-fry tonight, does that suit you?"

Vince smiles, "Yes, she is an amazing femme. I'm pretty sure you'd like her." He then tilts his head at the question, "Suits me down to the toes, as the saying goes. What do you need me to do?"

Jo-Ann leads Vince through the prep phases of the stir-fry, setting Vince the task of chopping up the peppers, onions, and other veggies that she plans on adding to the thick London Broil she'd already prepared. She sets about slicing the steak as thin as she can get it, setting it aside until she's ready to cook, she then looks at Vince, "Do you mind spicy food, Vince?"

Perking his ears as he concentrates on slicing the large orange pepper, Vince responds, "No, Jo-Ann, I tolerate spicy food pretty well." He then thinks of something, "Jo-Ann? I think the Captain should know that the furs who trashed my place might be in some discomfort now, if they broke one of the bottles I had stashed away."

The raccoon femme looks at Vince as she selects her spices, "And why's that?"

Vince chuckles, "I had a large jar of pickled Habanero chili peppers that I used to clear my sinuses."

Jo-Ann's eyes widen for a moment, then she laughs, "Would serve 'em right if they did get any on 'em."

Vince nods, then pulls out his cell and phones the Captain, "Captain? This is Sergeant Panthris. I just remembered something that was in my pantry that might aide us in capturing the perpetrators," he pauses and then smiles, "Well, sir, I had a jar of pickled Habanero peppers, and I know that unless a fur has a tolerance for hot food, they'll be in dire trouble if they got any of that on themselves," he listens for a moment, Jo-Ann able to hear the Captain's laughter clearly, "Just thought I'd pass that on, Sir, hope you have a good night." He then closes the phone and looks at Jo-Ann, "Seems we may have hit pay dirt all ready, there was a report of a fur being taken to a local clinic complaining of severe pain in his eyes, and claiming his muzzle felt it was full of lava, when he wasn't attempting to douse it with water."

Shaking her head, Jo-Ann grins, "Don't furs know that it takes milk to douse those flames by now?" She then returns to the stove top, warming up the skillet and pouring in a quarter cup of beef stock, then gathering the rest of the ingredients, sets about preparing dinner, the two cubs coming back out of their room to set the table and watch Vince and their mother interact.

Sensing the twins before he sees them, Vince smiles and says, "What does everyone want to drink?"

Richard pipes up, "Strawberry milk."

Kelso nods, "Me to, please?"

Vince nods, and gets out the twins' beverages, opting for a glass of regular milk for himself, he looks to Jo-Ann and says, "And your order, my lady?"

Jo-Ann blinks at the address, then blushes slightly and murmurs, "Milk's fine, thanks Vince."

Seeing the blush Vince is momentarily surprised, then reviewing what he said, his muzzle fluffs in embarrassment, "My pleasure, Jo-Ann." He then seats himself after making sure the twins are properly seated, though when Jo-Ann is finished cooking and is plating the dinner, he does get up and help her with that portion.

Richard and Kelso giggle together, and in a lightning fast conversation that only twins can have, come to the conclusion that mommie likes this fur and that he likes mommie. They both turn their efforts into determining if they like this big fur, as only children seem to be able to do.

Vince seats Jo-Ann before taking his own seat, "Good company and a good meal can make for a great day."

Jo-Ann smiles at this, then looks at the twins, "and what did you two learn in school today?"

Richard thinks, "We're working on our sums, mom. Writing them out so we understand how they work."

Kelso nods, "I was doing some extra reading that the teacher thought I might enjoy, before Auntie Gwen came to get us."

Vince listens in, smiling at the twins as he witnesses them interact with their mother. He is a bit surprised at how well spoken they are, for their age, but then smiles to himself, realizing that he might be translating unconsciously from his experiences watching his younger siblings. He does turn to Kelso and asks, politely, "And what did the teacher choose for you to read?"

Smiling broadly at Vince's question, Jo-Ann waits for her daughter's answer, subtly reassuring Kelso that it's okay to answer the question.

Kelso smiles, "Miz Swenson got me a copy of 'The Enormous Egg' by Oliver Buttersworth."

Vince's eyebrows raise to meet with his hairline at the name of the book. He's read it himself, but he knows it's usually reserved for second graders, because some of the words within aren't easy to grasp, figuring out the definitions through context isn't the easiest thing, at any age. He does smile at Kelso, "Do you like what you've read so far?"

Nodding, happily, the young raccoon femme smiles, "It's a great story, lets me use my 'magination."

Richard nods, "Kelso's been readin' it aloud to me. 'T'sa funny story, but I like hearin' 'bout it."

Beaming, Jo-Ann giggles, "Glad to hear it, you two." She then turns to Vince, "These two are quite amazing, aren't they?"

Nodding, Vince smiles, "A tribute to their mother, whose intelligence they definitely inherited."

Jo-Ann's muzzle fluffs furiously at this, causing both Richard and Kelso to giggle before hiding their expressions by starting on their meals, Kelso glancing at Richard and nodding imperceptibly, the young femme thinking, _"He'd be a good daddy to us, I think."_ Richard's thoughts following a similar tack.

Vince turns his attention to his meal as well, allowing Jo-Ann the opportunity to compose herself, he does miss the change in attitude from the kits, though, as he's thinking on his words, and wondering just how this femme has crept into his heart so quickly and easily, _"I can honestly say that I love you, Jo-Ann, and I hope for the opportunity to say what I'm thinking aloud. I hope you feel the same way about me, my sweet femme."_

Jo-Ann's thoughts, however, are a bit more chaotic, though she does find herself thinking of Vince's attitude and looks, finding both to be quite attractive, and the hints of his intelligence merely add icing to the very appetizing package.

All too shortly everyone's done with their dinner, the twins taking their plates to the sink to be rinsed, then Kelso saying, "Mom, can we take our dessert to our rooms?"

Jo-Ann thinks for a moment, "Sure, hon, why don't you both pick out a flavor of Blue Bunny ice cream you like, just don't leave the package in your rooms."

Richard nods, then goes to the freezer and extracts a 'single serve' package of Raspberry Cheesecake ice cream, selecting a similar sized Bunny Tracks for himself, "Here you go, sis."

Kelso giggles and takes what her brother got out, "Thanks." She then turns to her mom, "Good night, mom."

Vince turns to the twins, "Have a good night you two, and have good dreams, it's been nice to meet you."

Smiling proudly, Jo-Ann says, "And I'm sure they enjoyed meeting you too, Vince."

The twins nod emphatically and then scamper off to their room.

Vince then looks at Jo-Ann, "Very adorable kits you have there, Jo-Ann." He then looks around the condo, "Now, where am I putting my things while I disrupt your normal activities?"

Jo-Ann blinks, then laughs, "I've a pull-out couch in the 'Living Room,' sadly the twins took up my spare room for when I had guests stay over."

Just then the doorbell rings, and when the door is opened it reveals Officer Paguma, smiling, "Captain thought I'd be best to deliver Vince's stuff." He then hands Jo-Ann the case containing Vince's clothes while the hybrid collects the case containing his guitar.

Vince speaks up, "Most likely, and thanks for this, Blake. I guess I'll learn more tomorrow, once I get back to the precinct," to which the Civet simply nods.

Jo-Ann also thanks the Civet and smiles, "Have a safe trip home, Blake, and say hi to your spouse for me, won't you?"

Blake nods, "I'll tell Sylvia you said hi, you two have a good night and I'll be seeing you around the precinct." He then turns to Vince, "Oh, the Captain wants you to park inside the motor pool until the investigation is over."

Vince blinks, "Okay. Not a problem. I guess he figures it'll be harder to arrange accidents in there."

Laughing, Blake smiles, "Plus with the enclosed entrance, it's harder to know when you're inside."

Jo-Ann nods, "Good night, Blake, be safe."

The Civet officer nods and waves as he leaves, smiling to himself, _"Those two are so suited for each other, how do they not see it?"_

Closing the door, Vince smiles at Jo-Ann, "It's been a long day, and I'm feeling the effects of everything that's happened. Do you mind if I hit my borrowed bed?"

Shaking her head no, Jo-Ann smiles, then leads Vince over to the couch. With Vince's help she removes all the cushions and folds out the bed. She then plugs in something and a compressor kicks in, inflating the air mattress that had been kept on the bed, "Something the last fur that stayed on the couch suggested I have." She then gets out the pillows, kept in the side table next to the couch.

Vince smiles, "Much appreciated, trust me." He then place a couple of the cushions behind the mattress before reaching for the pillows, "I can tuck myself in, you can go do what you need to."

Jo-Ann simply smiles, "And what if I want to watch you get into bed?" she says teasingly.

The hybrid smiles, then greatly daring, reaches out and strokes Jo-Ann's muzzle, "Then I'd say you're a tease, but I wouldn't stop you, if that's what you wanted."

At Vince's touch Jo-Ann shivers and blushes, then smiles, "I'll leave you to your preparations, then." She then points, "Bathroom's over there," and then goes over to the linen cabinet and extracts two large towels, placing them in the bathroom, "And now you're ready for the morning as well."

Vince nods, then bows politely, if teasingly, "Thank you, my lady. And now I bid you good night," he then rummages through the case of clothes brought to him and extracts a pair of shorts. He then enters the bathroom and brushes his teeth, stepping back out clad only in his shorts, smiling as he sees Jo-Ann studying him, "Just makes me more comfortable, right now."

Jo-Ann smiles as she sees Vince leave the bathroom clad in a tiny pair of shorts, _"I was right, he does keep himself quite fit."_ She then smiles at being caught looking, "I can understand. Perhaps another time we can discuss the normal attire of the household." She then winks, "You may be surprised by what you learn."

Vince simply shakes his head and gets under the covers, "Good night, Jo-Ann, sleep well, my friend."

Jo-Ann nods and then smiles, "Same to you, Vince. May your dreams be sweet." She then enters her bedroom and gets ready for bed, smiling as the light clicks off in the living room before she closes her door. She then slips under her covers, her clothing for the next day set up on top of the dresser next to the bed, _"I wonder what his dreams will be like?"_

Vince, out in the living room, is resting lightly, trying to get used to the different sounds and scents of Jo-Ann's condo, his ears picking up the twins resting quietly, and hears Jo-Ann slip into her bed, his thoughts centered around the attractive raccoon femme, _"This night's going to make for interesting dreams … Hope nothing unexpected happens."_

# # #

_**Midnight**_

Jo-Ann slips from her bedroom, making her way to the bathroom by memory, clad solely in her fur, her mind only on the fact she forgot to empty her bladder.

Sensing the movement, Vince turns slowly, as if asleep. His night vision, which is quite a bit better than most furs would suspect, picking out the sight of Jo-Ann in her travels. He tries his best not to let on he's watching, but when he sees Jo-Ann returning he gasps at her beauty and figure. his exclamation drawing a startled gasp from the raccoon femme. He purrs, "Sorry to startle you, Jo-Ann. I just couldn't help myself when I saw you."

Jo-Ann gives a startled chirr then giggles, "You can see that well in the dark? Must come in handy at times."

Sitting up on the air mattress and smiling, Vince replies, "Well, I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't enjoying what I see right now."

Jo-Ann softly chirrs, then makes her way to sit next to Vince, drawing a startled purr from the male, "Can I be blunt, Vince?"

Smiling large enough to be heard, Vince jokes, "I'd rather you be Jo-Ann, but speak your mind, please."

Shaking her head at the silliness that's evident, Jo-Ann chirrs, "From the first moment I met you, I've wanted to get to know you better. You've also featured in my dreams a couple of times."

Blushing now, Vince looks at his paws, then places the closer one on Jo-Ann's tail, carefully, "Thank you for letting me know I was not alone in having this feeling." He then gently strokes the femme's tail, "But I've stopped myself several times from asking you, because I was afraid."

Jo-Ann chirrs deeper at the stroking, "Afraid of what, Vince?"

Vince purrs, "Afraid it would be too soon. Afraid you were already spoken for. Afraid that my interest wasn't returned . . ."

Smiling, Jo-Ann turns to Vince, then silences his words with her muzzle, expressing her feelings and hopes non-verbally, the electricity she feels upon this contact making her certain she's done the right thing.

With a startled purr Vince returns the kiss, returning the feelings he's sensing being expressed toward him, and letting Jo-Ann know that he is equally interested, feeling a similar 'spark' of recognition within himself.

Continuing the kiss until she's breathless, Jo-Ann reluctantly ends the moment, murmuring, "Why don't we continue this conversation somewhere more comfortable …," getting up and taking Vince's paws in her own, drawing him to her bedroom, letting him know he's welcome to join her therein.

Vince lets Jo-Ann lead him, his last act being to close the door behind him so that they can be private, he purrs, "Comfortable is good." He then lets the wonderfully attractive femme guide him to her bed, watching in appreciation as Jo-Ann lies provocatively on the bed.

Jo-Ann smiles up at Vince and pats the bed beside her, invitingly, "Why don't you sit here, Vince."

The hybrid purrs as he settles himself next to Jo-Ann, his hand gently stroking her hip as he does so, "You're so beautiful, Jo-Ann, I'm honored that you feel that you can trust me with yourself."

Smiling, Jo-Ann chirrs, both at the stroking and at Vince's words, "The feeling I got when I first saw you, plus how respectful you've been to me and everyone I've seen you interact with have gone a long way to alleviate my apprehensions." She then sits up, snuggling against Vince, her bosom pressing against his back, "I'm glad I got the chance to tell you just how much you affect me, my love."

Vince looks back at Jo-Ann, momentarily startled, then kisses her on her muzzle, "I do love you, Jo-Ann, I don't know how you've crept so far into my heart, but you have." He then lays on the bed next to her and starts caressing her back and shoulders, his touches gentle and caring, letting the femme know just how much he cares for her, "So beautiful," he murmurs before teasingly licking the raccoon femme's cleavage.

Jo-Ann gives a startled chirr at the kiss, her eyes widening at Vince's words, her senses telling her how deeply he means it. She closes her eyes as he caresses her back and is startled when she gets a vision of herself, dressed in a wedding gown, coming down the aisle to the hybrid who is laying next to her, her twins standing on either side of the podium grinning fit to split their muzzles, and her father walking her down the aisle. Then, as fast as it came, the vision vanishes when she feels the hybrid's tongue teasingly licking her cleavage fur. She opens her eyes and chirrs, "My handsome fellow, what are your intentions toward me?"

Vince looks into the raccoon femme's eyes, "To love you as you deserve to be, to honor you as fully as I can, and I hope to share as much of my life with you as I'm allowed." He then caresses from her muzzle to her bosom, "And your intentions, my lovely lady?"

Jo-Ann giggles as she caresses Vince's cheek, "To learn what sort of lover you are, to honor you as fully as I can, and as for sharing my life … well, I think you're starting off on the right paw." She then chirrs as she draws the large hybrid against her, her hands touching his and showing him just what excites her.

Purring deeply, Vince allows his hands to be led, learning what he's taught and teasingly adding techniques that he's learned, letting the vivacious femme that's with him learn just what excites him as well, the conversation continuing in a nonverbal fashion of shared passions, each fur taking the time to learn about the other, their joy at finding each other expressed in a quite physical fashion ...

~ ~ ~ **End Chapter 2 ^_^**


	3. New Partnerships

My thanks to Rick Coona and his alter ego, Joe Martelle, for their kind permission to write this story in their universe. Their comments and encouragement have been instrumental in bringing this story to life.

George Woodrow 4 - 2009

Kassir Ujinkhan, Joe Fenris, Carol Fenris, Jeff Salters, Michelle Musteline, George MacInnes, Tim Johansen, Bill Richards, George Leonis, Phil Leonis, Leona Felis Leonis, Lynne Smyth, Michael Pardis, Christine Uncia, Karl Ursiris, Richard Kassir Charles Procyon, Kelso Gwenwyfar Procyon, Janice Lynne Ujinkhan, Alexander Kassir Ujinkhan, Harold Hendrikson, Susan Blackstone © Chuck Percy

Rick Coona, Gwen Smith Coona, Kacy "KC" Coona, Kirk Otterman, Mike Ferretti, Cassy Bhunny Ferretti, Max Badger, Kath Badger, Bill Badger, Ted Badger, Bruno, Lupé Carlotta, Panda Phil, Jo-Ann Procyon, Charles Procyon, Marcus Procyon, Jack Canus, Esmerelda Smyth, Richard Coona, Helen Coona, Max Coona, Sally Coona, Kacey Kelso Coona, Richard Randolph Coona, . © Joe Martelle

Vince Panthris, Veronica Dae Wynne, Kessira "Ghost" Tigris, Valerie Vulpes, FursList, FurMail, Dwight "Scratcher" Daniels, Molly Daniels, Clyve "Spots" Asher, Purity Spices, Janice Wyld, Albert Wyld, Petty Officer 3 Fenrir, Claire Kurisawa, Petty Officer 3 Dwight Lupin, Petty Officer 3 William 'Wild Bill' Strynger, Petty Officer 3 Tymoth Edwards, Petty Officer 2 Annalisa Snowpaws, Lieutenant Mykhail Friedrich, Geoffry Oceanis, Annette Oceanis, Sylvia Oceanis, Stevie, Cliff, Malachi, Zeke, Deke, The Children of the Pure Moon, Wylde Longstride, Reginald Blackfeather, Blake Paguma, Miz Swenson, Sylvia Paguma, Julio Vulpes, Francine Woolmyra, Zarius Zoaster Wylfgar the Third, Quinn Tallman, Lancir Concolor Pantheris, Anisu Christie, Simon Whyte, Kodi Adams, Klauss Greunig, Rusty McCloud, Kumiko Tigris, Cassidy Panthris, Jazmyn Panthris, CandicePanthris, Deidre Panthris © George Woodrow 4

**Chapter 3: New Partnerships**

Vince wakes up to an unfamiliar alarm and blinks a few moments before remembering where he is and what happened during the night, _"I am amazed at how well we compliment each other, as if we're made of two halves of one whole."_ He then turns to the femme lying beside him and kisses her lightly on the nose, "Good morning, beautiful."

Jo-Ann smiles as she wakes up, her hand moving to stroke Vince's muzzle, "Careful, a femme could get used to being spoiled like this." She then kisses him properly. "Care to help me clean up?" she says as she slips free of the bed and saucily sways her hips on her way to the bathroom.

Shaking his head, Vince gets up and follows the raccoon femme to the bathroom, where he gets another good long look at her as she enters the shower, "We may be late to work if this keeps up," he says teasingly.

Jo-Ann laughs, "Might not be a bad thing. I put a little extra time on the alarm, just in case, my love."

Vince blushes furiously when he hears her call him that, but cannot refute how he feels, nor how Jo-Ann affects him. He enters the shower behind her and gets out the shampoo, and with a flourish applies it to the femme's back, "Well, my love, I'm very happy you thought ahead."

The shapely raccoon femme smiles at the ease with which the words come from Vince, "Well, I had also planned on talking to you about a few things." Jo-Ann then turns around and smiles up at Vince, "First, have you noticed this ring I wear?" she asks, tapping the Family ring.

Nodding, Vince applies more shampoo to Jo-Ann's chest, enjoying the way his hands glide over her fur, his fingers caressing her breasts teasingly. "Yes, I have. Looks like a family ring, if I remember the custom, and where you wear it."

Jo-Ann shivers a bit at Vince's touch, then smiles, "Dead in the black, Vince. This is the ring the Coona family gave me when they 'adopted' me into their family." She then applies a bit of shampoo to Vince's chest, enjoying the feel of his muscles under her fingers, "That family, my family, has a concept they call 'Unconditional Love'. It's similar to the love a mother would have for her children, not diminished in any way by the number of furs it includes."

Vince nods, then adds shampoo to Jo-Ann's head fur, "Sounds like a really special group of furs, my love, and I do look forward to meeting them, whether I have to wait for the barbecue, or if you decide to introduce me sooner …" He then works the soap into the raccoon femme's head fur, enjoying this sharing of time and touching.

Moving up against Vince, Jo-Ann smiles, "Well, once they hear what happened, I'm sure you'll be invited over quite quickly, so they get to know you better." She then hugs Vince, pressing her breasts to his chest, "The other things I have to tell you are not so happy, though finding you has helped me heal the hurts that the Coonas were unable to do anything about."

Purring at the hug, Vince rumbles, "Whatever you have to tell me, my love, will not affect how I feel about you." He then holds her close, "Before last night, I never dreamed that some one could suit me as well as you do, and finding you has helped my heart heal itself of past problems and heartache." He looks down at Jo-Ann's head and nuzzles her ears, not minding the shampoo, and rumbles, "You are the piece of me that I have sought all my life, without knowing just what it was that I sought."

Jo-Ann backs up just enough to look Vince in his eyes, blushing furiously at his words, yet feeling how honest he is, and how heartfelt his words are. She kisses him fiercely, her eyes streaming tears, both of sadness and joy. Then she breaks the kiss, reluctantly, and murmurs, "I, too, feel that way, Vince, and it does me a whole lot of good to hear those words from your muzzle." She then perks her ears to the radio, which was just low enough to not interfere with conversation, as the traffic report comes up, "But apparently we'll have to discuss this at another time, because it appears the commute in is aiming to be a problem."

Having heard the report as well, Vince nods and helps Jo-Ann rinse off before rinsing himself, letting her have first dibs at the towels and fur dryer, "Shall we take separate vehicles, hon? Might make things worse, not better."

Tilting her head in thought, Jo-Ann smiles, "Good thought, hon, though we might come in for some teasing when we get to the precinct." She then exits for the bedroom, to get her clothes for the day. Vince staying behind, having set up his clothes for the day prior to the events of last night.

# # #

Jo-Ann finds herself chuckling at her boyfriend as she navigated the traffic to the precinct, "I did warn you I had a smaller car, didn't I, hon?"

Vince nods, then shakes his head, "Yes, and even though I've seen it from the outside, I still didn't believe you when you said it might be a hard fit." He shifts his legs to get as comfortable as possible, thinking over a few things for his next day off, _"I think I'm going to surprise her with something special that shows the depth of my feelings for her." _He then shakes off his ruminations and does his job as passenger, mainly keeping an eye out for the notoriously bad drivers that populated the stretch of roadway between Jo-Ann's and the precinct.

Smiling to herself, Jo-Ann finds herself replaying some of the more interesting moments of the previous day, and reminding herself that she needs to get in touch with the Coonas as soon as possible.

_"I wonder how Gwen and Kelso will react when they hear about this! I know we'll need a good 'girls night out' party soon, so we can talk things over. Better include Cassy in on that fun too. Gonna call Gwen up at lunch and see about setting the wheels in motion."_ And with that plan concrete in her mind, Jo-Ann pulls into the precinct and parks her car in a protected spot. She giggles as she watches Vince stretch himself out, as he exits the car, enjoying the play of his muscles under his fur, "Any bets on who notices first?"

Vince shakes his head at Jo-Ann's sally, "No bets, hon, but I did set up a timer on my watch, to see how long it takes for someone to ask." He then gestures for Jo-Ann to lead the way, "After you, my sweet lady."

Unknown to the two furs, several sets of eyes are watching them with varying levels of wonder and amusement, foremost amongst those is Jack Canus, Jo-Ann's long-standing friend and partner. As he turns away from the window, he smiles at Valerie Vulpes, "It's about time she found someone special, don't you think?"

Valerie nods, "And he is that, Jack. One of the few furs who treats everyone fairly, no matter what their background is." She smiles fondly at the memory of meeting Vince the first time, and catching a couple lunches with the large hybrid, "He reminds me of my husband, and why I chose him out of all the furs chasing me."

Jack nods, having met Julio Vulpes a couple times when the Grey Fox had dropped things off for his mate, "Aye, I do agree there, Valerie. Now we've got to get back to work, so we can pay our bills and have time to spend with our mates and children."

The fiery red vixen nods, then giggles as she rubs her stomach, "How'd you guess?" She looks slyly at the canid as he gapes at her, "Or were you simply referring to your pups?"

Blinking in surprise, Jack gives a barking laugh, "Was mainly referring to my pups, but I guess congratulations are in order for you and Julio?"

Valerie nods, then makes a shushing motion, "Yes, but don't spread it around yet. We haven't gotten official news, but I'm late." She smiles at Jack, "I have the doctor's appointment scheduled tomorrow, my day off. When we get official news, I'll let you know, so you can plan the party here."

Jack shakes his head, smiling, "Fair enough, my friend, now scoot!" He makes shooing motions at the vixen, who goes giggling off to her desk, nearly colliding with Jo-Ann who's making her way back from the entrance.

Jo-Ann smiles at Jack, "Good news?"

The canid nods, "But I'm not allowed to tell yet," he says smiling.

The raccoon femme shakes her head and laughs, "Fair enough," she says, then changes the subject, "Now, what's on our plate today?"

Jack smiles at the topic change, "Brass wants a low-down on the perps Vince saw around his place, already got an undercover officer on scene."

Jo-Ann nods, "Anything new pop up there? Or with the perps that trashed Vince's place?" Her eyes light up with interest, hoping for news there.

The canid chuckles, "Well, the one perp who scoffed those peppers he had is in solitary lock-up in the medical ward right now. Seems someone didn't want him talking."

Shaking her head in disgust, Jo-Ann sighs, "Was he willing to give up his running buddies before he was attacked?"

Jack smiles, nastily, "Kid was already singing like a canary, as long as we kept him supplied with milk. The lawyer supplied for him tried to argue him out of it, but the kid was angry at the rest of 'em for abandoning him 'in his time of need' ..."

Jo-Ann laughs, "Who could have let it be known that he was singing? Not that I expect he knows too much about the group of furs he ran with."

Grimacing, Jack growls, "Not sure, could have been anyone. We did get prints off the syringe the murderer was planning to use, but thanks to good police work, they never got close."

Nodding, Jo-Ann sighs, "Hope this convinces him to turn witness for us; though I detest Purist furs, not all of them are hardcore or evil."

Jack nods, "This kid seems to be straightening out, even told one of the interviewers he was sorry for ever thinking hybrids weren't people."

Jo-Ann's eyebrows lift to her hairline, "Wonder what provoked that?"

With a shrug, and a motion to follow him, Jack leads Jo-Ann back to their desks, "Other than the fact the officer was treating him with respect, and was a rather attractive fur, I'm not sure."

Sitting down at her desk, "Who was it?" she asks.

Jack smiles, "You remember Francine Woolmyra?"

Blinking for a few seconds, Jo-Ann finally remembers the femme, "She's that Oryx / Gazelle hybrid, right? Came to the states to learn more about police work? Decided to stay because she loved it here?"

Nodding, Jack laughs, "Dead in the black on all counts, Jo-Ann."

Jo-Ann smiles at Jack, "Doesn't hurt that she's drop dead gorgeous, does it, Jack?"

Jack simply shakes his head, not refuting Jo-Ann's statement, nor deigning to comment further. He then taps the folder on the Detective's desk, "Here's a list of the known or suspected members of 'The Children of the Pure Moon'," his voice dripping with sarcasm as he says the name, "Most of what we have is quite likely the lowest echelons of the organization, perhaps the reporting lieutenant for the furs that trashed Vince's place."

Opening the folder, Jo-Ann grumbles, "Looks like this bunch consists entirely of canids, of one type or another. Mostly wolves, but I do notice quite a few breeds of dog."

With a grumble of his own, Jack nods, "And it looks to me like anyone with mixed canine heritage can't get too high in the organization, if at all." He taps the envelope, "Some of this information comes from the FBI, via Annette."

Jo-Ann nods, "This group is separate from the assholes who attacked Kass and Rick, that group didn't care what species you were, as long as you were pure." She looks through the pages of the folder, "We're sharing what we find with the Feds, right?"

Jack nods, "For all the best reasons too." He smiles, "Though if more turn out like the kid down in medical, I'll be happier."

Snorting in derision, Jo-Ann looks at her partner, "Wishful thinking, Jack, and we both know it. The real smart ones will try and play that angle too, to try and escape justice." She looks at the list, "There will be those who are honest, who have no real reason to be with the group other than peer pressure." She then taps one profile, "Then there's folks like this loser, who should have stayed a glimmer in his parent's eyes."

Looking at the selected profile, "Zarius Zoaster Wylfgar the Third, eh? Let's see … Larceny, grand larceny, theft, grand theft auto, felon in possession of firearms, possession with intent to sell, distribution, attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion, and a whole laundry list of minor offenses that stretch back to where his Juvenile record would be."

Jo-Ann nods, "This waste of a fur is the guy the kid down in medical was reporting to, and if this is a sampling of the lieutenants, I'd hate to see the rap sheets for the higher ups." She then tilts her head, "Though I suppose some of the higher ups wouldn't get their paws dirty with this sort of thing, and it would be more along the lines of conspiracy and manufacturing for sale."

Jack nods, "We found out they bullied the Super for Vince's apartment complex, fellow owed them a ton of cash from gambling debts." He pulls out another folder, "Quinn Tallman, Raccoon, age 65, divorced for ten years." He then places the folder on Jo-Ann's desk, "Guess they're not above taking other fur's money, even if they're not pure or canine."

Jo-Ann shakes her head, "Money's money, and I bet they feel superior taking it from hybrids and non-canines, thinking to themselves; 'Look how weak these furs are, this is why we're better than they are.'"

Grimacing, Jack nods, "Well, the brass wants us to go to Vince's apartment and catch any of 'em selling drugs. Figure if we start at the bottom, those higher up in the organization will start doing stupid stuff that'll make it easier to apprehend them."

Grinning ferally, Jo-Ann nods, "All right, partner, let's go catch us some Purist scum." She then gets up from her desk and leads the way to where the undercover vehicle they're going to be using is waiting, a well worn and beat up looking Crown Victoria, the precinct even going as far as getting a few graffiti artists to tag it, so as to help it blend in more. "Here's our ride for the day, Jack."

The canid nods and gets in the passenger side, "Let's hope she doesn't stand out too much. Vince's neighborhood's on the good side."

Jo-Ann nods, then pulls carefully out of the precinct, and starts her day.

# # #

Kessira wakes up early, before her alarm even goes off, her heart pounding in her chest as she listens for what woke her up, not sure if it was a dream, or if it was something real. Her ears swivel back and forth, trying to search out any sounds which don't belong in her apartment, her hand falling on the gun she keeps in the bedside table.

Hearing the tinkling of metal, Kessira growls and carefully stalks to the door leading from her bedroom to the rest of her unit, using her keen eyesight to pick up anything that shouldn't be there. She doesn't bother clothing herself, nor does that even enter her mind as she carefully edges open the door and peeks out into the living room/kitchen, senses keyed to catch any movement, the comfortable weight of her firearm easy in her paw. She pauses briefly to take the safety off, a rumbling purr coming from her as she slowly stalks from each piece of furniture she owns to the next, clearing the room slowly and making sure there weren't going to be any surprises behind her.

She hears soft grumbling coming from the entrance to her apartment, and a few words, "Pretty kitty sure lives nice." Her ears perk as she recognizes the voice, and she shakes her head before continuing her stealthy approach to the entrance to her apartment, making sure the fur's alone. Once she's sure of that, she slinks up behind him and, placing the barrel of her gun at the back of his neck, she purrs, dangerously, "Lancir, you bloody waste of a fur, what in fuck do you think you're doing?"

Lancir Concolor Pantheris freezes when he feels the gun barrel, then stammers out, "J-j-just w-w-wanted to see yo-you a-again, kitten!" The large male Florida panther keeps still, despite the fact Kessira can smell how nervous he is.

Kessira growls, "I told you we were through more than a year ago, when I was winding up my service in the Air Force. I'm sorry I ever let you get as close to me as you did, you idiot." She grasps his shoulder and turns him to face her, "Let me put it bluntly for you, 'kitten', I'm not interested in a fur who's only reason for wanting me is to piss his purist parents off, nor am I interested in a fur whose whole life seems to revolve around controlling the femme he's interested in." She points her gun at his mid-section, "I don't ever want to see your sorry ass again, Lancir, I have moved on and grown up since I left the base, even if you haven't."

The panther shakes, then stupidly tries to take Kessira's gun from her, "You were always a haughty priss, weren't you?" He grunts as he encounters the hybrid's strength, "I should have done something about that long ago."

Growling, the tiger / polar bear hybrid looks Lancir in his eyes, "Strike three, asshole." She then strikes him in the muzzle with her fist, knocking his head back and rattling his brains, causing him to step back a pace, then gave a feral growl.

Lancir shakes his head at the force of Kessira's punch, then tries to launch a haymaker at her, which the hybrid ducks with deceptive ease, each humiliation causing the panther to lose more control and want to hurt the object that's making him look bad. "Perhaps my folks were right about you, hybrid trash like you isn't worth being nice to, all it gets you is trouble."

Kessira smiles, nastily, "They tell you that before or after they found out about your harem of hybrid femmes? You're a real piece of work, Lancir. When life doesn't go how you want it, you resort to trying to hurt those who don't follow your lead." She then feints for his eyes, her claws extended, and when he moves to evade, she executes a devastating snap-kick to his groin, dropping the panther like a ton of bricks, "Stay down, asshole, and you might survive to sire little panthers of your own." She then pads over to the phone and dials the police, keeping her gun trained on Lancir.

The panther growls, trying to recover from the assault to his person, but wisely stays down when he notices Kessira's gun trained on him, even if this does not stop him from using his voice, "I'll get you for this, you frosty bitch! I'll find a way to get you, and hurt you, wench!" His tirade continues, though it fails to get more inventive, none of the invective affecting the hybrid femme as she talks to the police, letting them know she's caught an intruder in her apartment, and that he's been subdued.

While Kessira waits for the police, she takes a moment to cover herself with a nightgown, never letting Lancir out of her sight as she does; the only time he's not fully covered by her gun is when she switches hands to put her arm through the sleeve, her ice blue eyes letting the prone panther know that moving even then would be a mistake.

Shortly after that the policefur knocks on Kessira's door. She opens it to reveal a rather statuesque german shepherd femme, "Officer Anisu Christie, responding to a report of an intruder?" She blinks a couple times as she takes in Kessira's appearance, the nightgown doing very little to hide the hybrid's features.

Kessira nods, "He's in here. Idiot used to be a friend, thought he wanted more 'til he found I wasn't all feline, then felt the need to try and make me part of his harem anyway." She shakes her head, openly putting her gun's safety on, "His parents were purists, but he felt he was stud enough to breed any feline hybrid back to purity."

The officer blinks at all this, then takes in the prone form of Lancir, shaking her head, "Sure don't breed for intelligence, purists." She then starts reading Lancir his rights, kneeling down and cuffing him, "You'll have to come down to the precinct, miss, to press formal charges, plus get with someone to discuss what you know of him."

Nodding, Kessira smiles, "I can do that, Officer Christie, I'll just need to phone work and tell them I'll be a little late getting in. Fortunately the furs who work for me know how to think for themselves when I'm not there."

The german shepherd femme nods, "Good to know, miss. Now I'll just take 'Mr. Stud' here down to the precinct and start the paperwork on him." She also picks up the tools Lancir used to break into the apartment, "These will help cement the case against him." She then leads Lancir out, Kessira closing the door behind them and locking it tight.

Kessira looks down at the old mail slot that Lancir used to get into her apartment, "I knew I should have had that door replaced, but the super's always busy with 'more important' things. I'm going to have to track him down, once I get back from dealing with this mess." She then pads over to a chest of drawers and removes a cordless drill, she then gets a small board out of a collection she has next to the chest and smiles to herself, "Time right now for a quick fix, and worry about the rest later." She then proceeds to screw the board over the hole in her door, "Not pretty, but it'll serve until I get the new door."

Walking back into her bedroom, Kessira goes to her nightstand and puts her gun back in it, picking up her blackberry and phoning work, "Can you get me Scratcher?" she asks the fur who picks up the phone. Hearing an affirmative, then hold music, she sighs, "Hope this day gets better after this." When the phone on the other end is picked up again, Kessira speaks quietly, "Scratcher, this is Ghost, I'm gonna be a little late getting in," she pauses while Dwight asks his questions, "You remember that waste of a male, Lancir? Well he decided in his infinite wisdom to try and track me down." She grins at the explosion of invectives from the other side of the line, "Don't worry, the cops have him already, and he's not even permanently harmed. I just have to go down to the precinct and file a formal complaint against the idiot, and don't know when I'll be getting in," she purrs at the response she hears, "Thanks, old friend, I'll owe you one. Could you connect me with Veronica's voicemail? I need to leave a message there as well, so Mrs. Coona's kept appraised of what's going on." She waits for Dwight's response, then after she hears the voicemail message, details for Veronica what's happened, and that things are being dealt with.

She then lays out her clothes for the day, picking out the most professional attire she can, and then showers to get rid of the residue of her morning's unexpected workout.

# # #

Veronica's day starts quietly at home, her alarm waking her up easily, the femme stretching out as she slips out from under her covers, "Good start to my day, at least." She then pads to her wardrobe and gets out her outfit for the day, a rather pretty red dress that she wears when she knows she's going to be sitting most of the day. Once everything is laid out on her bed, she heads for the shower, glad she had put in the tankless water heater after she had witnessed its efficacy at the Coona's residence. _"Having as much hot water as you need, no matter when it is, was worth the expense."_ With a sigh as she shampoos out her fur, she reminds herself she's due for a good trim and brushing out, one of the few beauty treatments she indulges in.

Slipping her clothes on, she takes stock of her appearance in the full-length mirror she set up next to her dresser, "Time to face the day." She then exits her bedroom and makes her way down the spiral staircase to her garage, which is actually big enough to house the entire fleet of the Coona clan. She gets into her Mini, putting down the convertible top, seeing as it's supposed to be a nice day, and motors out, heading to work through the typical Wednesday commute, the only hiccough being a tractor trailer flipping on its side, on the opposite side from which she was driving. _"That's going to screw traffic up for hours, thankfully in the couple of years I've been here, I've picked out a few good alternate routes."_

Pulling into her normal spot, Veronica waves to those she sees coming in at the same time, pausing so that Susan Blackstone, the civet who she'd saved from Hendrickson, could catch up to her. "Hi, Susan, how's things going with you?"

Susan, who's personality has shone since Gwen helped her out, including getting therapy for the abuse she'd been put through, grins, "Things are great!" She then shows the hybrid a ring on her left hand, with a rather impressive diamond on it, "Simon proposed last night!"

Veronica smiles at the vivacious and bubbly feline, "Congratulations, sweetie, you deserve that happiness! When's the wedding?" She also begins plotting a surprise engagement party for the femme, for those at work, "Or haven't you set a date yet?"

Giggling, Susan blushes a bit, "He wants to get married Valentine's Day, next year; gives us plenty of time to plan as big or small a wedding as we want!"

The hybrid femme smiles, broadly, "You go, girl. You got yourself a good man there." Veronica then asks, "You have a theme picked out yet, or you simply going to use a Valentines Day theme?"

Susan shakes her head no, "Simon and I are discussing that. Neither of us are big on frills or huge displays, but I do want a castle, somewhere, for my wedding."

Veronica nods, "Perhaps you could ask Mrs. Coona if she knows of any such place? She's pretty well connected, and might know someone who could steer you in the right direction." She then presses the button for her elevator, Susan waiting beside her.

Susan nods, much more confident in herself than when she first came to Seattle, "Sounds like a plan, Veronica." She gets into the elevator first and presses the button for her floor as well as Veronica's, then teases the hybrid, "And when are you going to find some fur to settle down with?"

Laughing, Veronica teases back, "I have my eyes on a fur, just have to see if they reciprocate those feelings." She then winks at the stunned civet, "And, no, I'm not telling you who it is."

Susan shakes her head, then murmurs to herself, "Mrs. Susan Blackstone Whyte, sounds so perfect to me," plainly thinking ahead to the day she gets married.

Veronica simply hides a smile as she watches the femme, glad she interfered with the girl's life and getting her the help she needed to become the femme she was now. She waves bye to Susan when the civet gets off at her floor, riding up the remaining distance to hers, and quickly making her way to her desk. Once there, she sees the blink of a 'priority' voice mail and sighs, "All right, what fire needs put out now?" she asks as she sits down.

Picking up her phone, she punches in the passkey needed to bring up her voicemail. Hearing Kessira's message, Veronica's gut clenches a moment in fear that the spunky hybrid had been hurt, then as she hears it all, she finds herself holding back her thoughts of what she'd do to the miscreant if she ever encountered him, her wolverine heritage definitely showing its colors.

She then makes a note to pass the message on to Mrs. Coona when she comes in, as well as making a note in her system to plan a surprise shower for Susan.

Hearing a noise coming down the hall, Veronica looks up to see Gwen entering her office, "Good morning, Mrs. Coona. Have a good night?"

Gwen nods, "Fairly decent. Had a few nightmares which I don't want to remember, but over all, pleasant. Anything new come up since yesterday?"

Veronica nods, "First, I just got a message from Kessira, she's going to be a bit late today."

Gwen blinks, "That's odd, what else does the message say?"

Grimacing, Veronica says, "Seems like an ex of hers broke into her apartment this morning and she had to subdue him. She's got to go down to the local precinct to fill out a formal complaint against the fur. She doesn't know how long it'll take, either. She did say she'd arranged coverage for herself, and will call if things look like they'll take a while to wrap up."

Gwen nods, "Well, it's good to know she wasn't hurt. And I'm glad she was able to find coverage at such short notice." She then looks at Veronica, "Though, judging by your expression, that was the 'bad' news, now what's the good?"

Veronica laughs, "Indeed, that was the 'bad' news. First, you remember Susan Blackstone?" She grins mischievously at her boss.

Nodding, Gwen smiles, "Yes, I do. Shall I guess what the news is then?"

Giggling at her boss, "If you're guessing, you're probably right. Her boyfriend popped the question last night, and you should see the size of the rock he got her!"

Gwen smiles, "Good for her! And knowing you, we should be expecting an email shortly to arrange a surprise shower for her, right?"

Gaping in surprise, Veronica nods, "I guess I've gotten predictable for doing such things, haven't I?"

Gwen nods, then reaches out and closes Veronica's muzzle, "I'm not complaining, hon. Furs like you are what turns businesses into families." She then chuckles, "I know I'm not the only one who appreciates all the little extras you do, like making sure there's cake for folks' birthdays, little cards for anniversaries, and all the other little bits you do because it's who you are."

Veronica's muzzle fluffs outrageously, even her ears are included in the display, "T-thank you, Gwen. You know how much that means to me."

Nodding, Gwen smiles, "Yes, hon, I do." The touch on Veronica's muzzle also allowing her to get a good look at the femme's aura and more, the skunk femme sensing the hybrid's magickal potential, and getting a feel that Kelso will find a friend who feels the same way about healing. "Now let's get this day started, shall we?"

Shaking off the effects of Gwen's touch, Veronica nods, though she also takes out her facial brushes and does a quick once over to smooth down her fluffed fur, a nagging 'vision' that will persist through her day, of herself, Kessira, and Vince sharing a hot tub, and sharing quite a lot more. She also got a picture of a shapely raccoon femme encouraging her, saying, _"You both want his child, I don't mind, and he'll be a great father, I know,"_ the raccoon femme in her vision rubbing her stomach, joyfully.

Gwen, sitting down at her desk, senses she may have tripped the switch on her secretary's gifts, hits the intercom, "Veronica, could you come in for a moment?"

Responding with an affirmative, Veronica enters Gwen's office, "Yes boss?"

Smiling, Gwen says, "Care to tell me what you're feeling right now?"

Veronica blinks, then shakes her head, "Not sure if I can, here, boss. If it's possible, I'd like to talk at your place tonight?" The hybrid's posture nervous, yet unafraid, "After you touched my muzzle, I thought I saw something, and I need to discuss it with you, after hours."

Gwen nods, "All right, if you think it's best, I'll see you then." She then smiles, "You look like you're due for a dunking in the hot tub, anyway."

Shaking her head, Veronica goes back to her desk, though her mind isn't wholly on her job, the images she saw popping up throughout her day.

Inside her office, Gwen smiles, then calls home, "Rick, expect at least one extra for the hot tub tonight. Veronica's coming, and we may need to have a second gathering on Sunday."

At home, in the kitchen, Rick nods to himself, listening to his soul-mate, "So, I was right, she has magick?"

Gwen smiles large enough to be heard over the phone, "Indeed, and I may have inadvertently woken it up more than it was."

Rick responds, "Oh, and what makes you say that?"

With a rueful sigh, Gwen says, "Well, I touched her muzzle, thanking her for all the little things she does around here, and I caught a flash of something from her, but nothing that I could focus on, other than it was so overlaid with sexual tension I may have to pounce you when we get home, love."

Laughing softly, he replies "Sounds delicious. I take it we'll be talking to Veronica about what she saw, and making her the 'offer'?"

Gwen giggles, "You make it sound like we're a mafia family, when you say it like that." She then looks at the time, "Well, lover, I just wanted to give you the heads-up, I need to get to work now."

Rick blows a kiss into the phone, "Be well, lover, and I look forward to hearing everything tonight."

Sighing, Gwen hangs up the phone and goes about running her business, keeping everything running as smoothly as possible.

# # #

Kessira pulls into the precinct, her old car blending in with the police vehicles, the younger siblings of what she drives. Mounting the steps, she enters the building and makes her way to the front desk, where Valerie Vulpes is sitting. She smiles at the vixen, "Hello, officer, my name's Kessira Tigris, I was told to come down here to file a complaint against the fur who broke into my apartment."

Valerie looks up from the files she'd been organizing, smiling at what appears at first to be an albino tigress, then realizes the eyes and nose are the wrong colors, "Hello, Miss Tigris. Yes, I was informed you'd been told to come in." She then points to the left, "Officer Anisu Christie's desk is this way. Do you want me to lead you to her?"

Looking around, Kessira nods, "Unless it's a lot of trouble, I'd like that." She straightens out the very businesslike dress she chose to wear, "I haven't had much reason to learn the layout of this place."

The policefemme nods, then gestures for Kessira to follow her, "No need to be nervous, miss. I think its something they add to the atmosphere of all these buildings." She comments, "Heck, if I come here off-duty, I feel nervous."

Kessira nods, following Valerie back to Officer Christie's desk, "Thanks a lot, Officer . . ."

Valerie flushes, "Vulpes, miss. Hope you have a good day." She leaves Kessira sitting at Anisu's desk, the german shepherd femme coming from the opposite direction, seeing Kessira being led in.

Smiling as she comes over to her desk, Anisu comments, "Thanks for coming down so quickly, Miss Tigris. Your statement may be the nail in Mr. 'Prize Specimen' Lancir Concolor Pantheris' coffin."

Kessira's ears swivel towards the officer as she approaches, then perk as she hears the german shepherd's statement, "How do you mean, officer?"

Anisu smiles, "Seems like Mr Pantheris there has a couple warrants out for his arrest, including one for nearly killing one of his ex girlfriends."

Growling a bit at this news, Kessira nods, "Doesn't totally surprise me, to be honest. Lancir never did like hearing that he wasn't 'male enough' to keep a fur interested in him. Would always hear crap like 'She'll be back, I'm the best she'll ever have,' and other nonsense like that."

The german shepherd femme nods, then digs out the paperwork, "Well, here's the paperwork that needs filled out, so we can get your statement against Mr. Pantheris, and hopefully put him where he can't bother anyone for a long time."

Kessira nods, then begins filling out the forms, occasionally asking Officer Anisu for clarification on a question, then nodding as she understands what's being asked of her.

Anisu smiles as she collects each completed form, placing it in a folder, then notices something, "You were in the Air Force?"

With a bright smile, Kessira nods, "Put me through College, I was in Security, but I wasn't going to be a career military fur. Still have a few friends on the Base here, fortunately. Steered a few toward where I work now." She then grins, "I also keep my security clearance as high as I'm able."

Nodding through this explanation, Anisu comments, "Would explain how you have a permit to carry that cannon you had at your apartment."

Kessira laughs, "Oh, yes, indeed. I keep that permit up to date, re-certifying early, so that I never have a chance that the permit will lapse." She then produces the permit, "I keep a copy with me, and in a safe in my apartment."

Anisu nods, "Good for you, miss." She then checks something, "You work for Harcourt / Smythe Enterprises?" at Kessira's nod, she continues, "I remember the news from when they moved here. Was in all the papers ..."

With a grim smile, Kessira nods, "Wasn't with the company for that, I was still in the service when Mrs. Coona moved things here to Seattle. Though, yes, the story of the nest of vipers she had to deal with was news on Base as well. That was one of the reasons I chose to apply there, when I got discharged."

As the two femmes are talking, Vince comes up from the Evidence room and is heading towards Anisu's desk to get her signature on some paperwork dealing with the arrest of Lancir. When he sees Kessira he blinks, then smiles, "Hello, Miss Tigris, I didn't realize you were the one this case dealt with."

He turns to Anisu, "Here's the list of the stuff we found searching the guy's car. Seems he had quite a few questionable items stashed away in his trunk."

Kessira shakes her head, "Damn fool never was the sharpest tack in the box when I knew him in High School, and it seems that the Purist crap his family fed him only served to make him even duller." She looks up at Vince, "I can guarantee you, if you check his last couple places of residence, there'll be at least one femme in the area who will be willing to sign a complaint against him … though you may have to search the hospitals to find them."

Both Vince and Anisu blink at this, the german shepherd femme speaking first, "He liked dominating femmes?"

Shaking her head no, Kessira sighs, "No, more he didn't like learning a femme left him, and he'd take it out on them. I was one of the few who he couldn't beat up, and I thank my Polar Bear mother for the hidden strength I have."

Vince nods at this, "True, that is one thing I did learn, going through training. Never underestimate how strong a bear is, no matter how young or old they are. Had an opportunity to partner up with an officer by the name of Kodi Adams, he was a Kodiak bear, and I witnessed him take down a biker bar almost single pawed."

Anisu blinks at Vince, "You knew Cannonball Kodi?" and at Vince's nod in the affirmative, "I'll have to trade stories with you Sergeant, that bear was in my dad's graduating class at the Academy."

With a nod, Vince smiles, "When you have a free lunch, I'd be glad to share, Officer. Now I believe I've taken up enough of Miss Tigris' time, and I need to get back to cataloging all the nasty little bits of evidence that'll keep Mr. Pantheris behind bars for a long time."

Kessira blushes at the attention, her muzzle fluffing slightly, "Thanks, Vince. And I hope to see you at the Barbecue I've been invited to next Sunday."

Vince blinks a moment, then smiles, "Indeed you will, and I have a feeling there will be quite a few surprises revealed that day." He then heads back down to Evidence, the paperwork he brought up now bearing Anisu's signature.

Anisu simply shakes her head and gathers the paperwork Kessira has finished, "And how do you know Sergeant Panthris?"

Smiling, Kessira responds, "Oh, he and I met through an ad he put up on FursList, where he was looking to start a band. My friend at work, Veronica, answered and met him at a local bar, Open Season, where my childhood friend Bruno works as a bouncer. I just happened to stop by in time to offer my skills as a drummer. My boss, Mrs. Coona, invited me to a barbecue the weekend after this, and hinted that a mutual friend of hers and Vince's would be inviting him." She then laughs, "As Vince said the night we chose to see if we were compatible as band mates, 'If it wasn't happening to me, I wouldn't believe it could happen.'"

The german shepherd femme laughs, her head tilting back as she tries to keep her composure, then wiping away laugh tears, Anisu shakes her head, "Well, that form you have there is the last one I need from you. We'll contact you if we need your testimony in court, but from the evidence we've collected already, I don't believe that'll be necessary."

Kessira nods and fills out the last couple of questions, "Thanks, Officer Christie." She then gets out her business card, "Here's my card, if you do need me for anything more. It includes my work, mobile, and home numbers, as well as my email."

Anisu takes the card, "Please, just call me Anisu. I thank you for all the help you've been, and I hope that there won't be too much reason to officially contact you." She then smiles, "Have a great rest of your day, Miss Tigris."

With a smile and an extended paw, "Call me Kessira, and I hope your day is as uneventful as you desire, Anisu."

The german shepherd femme takes the proffered paw and shakes it, "Be well, Kessira."

# # #

Pulling into the garage at CCN, Veronica finds herself nervous for the first time since she was introduced to the Coona's home. She parks next to Gwen's vehicle, leaving plenty of room for Rick and Kelso when they get off from work. Knocking on the door, her tail swaying nervously behind her, she waits for Gwen to answer the door.

Gwen smiles as she hears the knock, and senses the nervousness of the fur on the other side. "Come in Veronica," she says, opening the door, "And get comfortable before we talk."

Veronica nods, heading for the guest room that also serves as the disrobing room. Eschewing the robe provided for those who are body shy, the hybrid femme steps back out, making her way towards the living room, "Gwen?"

Calling out from the kitchen, Gwen answers, "Have a seat, Veronica, I'll be right out, just fixing some of Kass' Pepperwinkle Tea." Shortly afterward the skunk femme exits the kitchen and smiles at Veronica, who is doing her best not to show her nervousness, "No need to be nervous, hon, I don't bite," she then winks, "Or at least not unless the fur deserves it."

With a chuckle as she relaxes, Veronica takes the cup of tea, then sniffs the aromas coming from it, "Ooh, this is good." She then takes a sip and relaxes more.

"I'm glad I was able to come here after work, Gwen," loosening up now that she's not at work. "Something odd happened today, when you touched my muzzle," the femme trails off nervously.

Gwen nods encouragingly, "Go on, sweetie, I'm listening." She then settles herself, projecting an air of comfort and soothing for all she's worth, letting the femme across from her feel that she's not being judged for what she's about to say, "Trust me, nothing you say will go beyond these walls, nor have an adverse effect on your job, or our friendship."

As Gwen says this last, Veronica's eyes close, "I know that, Gwen. It's just what I saw both confused the hell out of me and made me quite curious about the furs I saw." She then furrows her brow, "Let's see if I can remember this correctly." After a pause to gather her thoughts, "What I saw was myself, Kessira, and Vince Panthris here, in the hot tub, a very striking raccoon femme standing a bit to the side, as if waiting until there was more room for her, and she was with kit." Her muzzle fluffs as she remembers the next part, "But that's not why the vision, if it was such, affected me so much."

Blinking in surprise at what's being described, Gwen listens closer, letting her sorceress' training guide her for what to say, and also get a reading to see if this was a true precog, "Go on, dear, I'm listening. And I think I'll need to show you something special once we've talked things over a bit more."

Veronica nods, then continues in a slightly huskier voice, "Gwen, what I saw was myself and Vince being very intimate, I got a sense that I was in heat and I had asked him to father a child with me. From what I felt from the unknown raccoon femme was encouragement and love for both of us, and that Vince was her mate, but there was no jealousy evident because he was with another." She pauses and shifts her legs a bit, "I also sensed that Kessira was beyond simply a friend of mine, she felt like she was my mate, and was also in heat and wanted a child by Vince as well." Her facial fur is quite fluffed by now with the intensity of her blush, "The last thing I felt, before the vision faded, was that the cubs the Raccoon femme was carrying were Vince's as well … and I remember her saying, '_You both want his child, I don't mind, and he'll be a great father, I know,'_ while rubbing her belly."

Gwen nods throughout the explanation, the tendrils of probability she's feeling leading her to believe that Veronica's vision isn't wholly a precog, but there is truth in that the hybrid will want to have a child with Vince. "Veronica, dear, that's a very detailed vision you had. I could feel there was some truth in it also."

Veronica's eyes open wide as she looks startled at Gwen, "Truth in my vision? How do you mean, Gwen?"

Gwen responds with a sympathetic smile, "First, I have to ask you not to repeat what I'm about to tell you to anyone beyond the four walls of this house."

Blinking, Veronica looks at Gwen, and seeing she's serious, "I promise not to betray the trust that you have shown me, Gwen." She then continues, "Féin gealltanas a aithint mo focal."

Tilting her head at the second promise, which she can sense was such, Gwen looks at Veronica in surprise, "Care to translate that, sweetie?"

Veronica's eyes sparkle in merriment, "It's an old Gaelic promise to keep my word." She then giggles, her nervousness lessening, "One of the things I inherited from my birth parents was a dictionary for translating Gaelic to English and vice versa. When I went to college, I took Gaelic as my language, sort of honoring my blood kin."

Gwen nods at this, "Fair enough. Now don't be startled by anything you see, sweetie, nothing here means you any harm." She then puts her hands out, as if to catch something, and speaks the release words for the 'pocket' that contains the grimoir of magick that new aspirants are given, "Are you ready for this, sweetie?"

Her eyes widening in surprise, Veronica nods, her eyes never leaving the book that Gwen's holding, "Was that magic?"

With a grin for the question, Gwen nods, "With the final 'k'. This is different from stage magic and sleight of paw, this requires the user to have an innate ability."

Veronica stares at Gwen, "Are you saying I could be a magician?" Her claws showing themselves with her nervousness, "Are you saying you're going to teach me?"

Gwen nods, "Yes to the first, and only if you choose to follow this road, my friend. If you choose to have the ability within you shut down, then that will be the last vision you will ever have." Gwen looks into Veronica's eyes, "I will tell you that the magick you have helped you deal with HSE under my mother, telling you who to be cautious around, and who the honest furs were."

Looking at her hands, Veronica thinks on this, "I do recall getting 'feelings' about things, and being able to tell folks I trusted that they should be extra cautious. Perhaps a day or two after each 'feeling', there'd be a surprise inspection, or 'Madame' would be bringing folks through to show how 'integrated' we were." The hybrid spitting out the word 'integrated' like it was poisonous, "I do know that successful hybrids, such as myself, were often targeted for 'performance reviews' that were skewed to keeping them from promotions they deserved."

Nodding at this, something the hybrid had told her about back when she and Phil had been rooting out all the bad seeds from her mother's companies prior to moving them to Seattle, "And you were able to warn folks that they were being spotlighted?"

Veronica nods, "I always thought it was due to my job, I could see the writing on the wall, and read what was not written as well."

Gwen puts a paw on Veronica's, "Hon, I'm sure that your job did have a lot to do with being able to see the unwritten scheming that went on there, but I'm also sure that your talent allowed you to notice more than the normal fur would have."

Brightening at this, Veronica smiles at Gwen, "So, what do I need to do?" She stretches her paw out, ready to take the book.

Smiling, Gwen gives Veronica the book, "Place the book under your pillow, for the next three nights, and be prepared to take notes on what you remember of the dreams when you wake up." She then holds up her paw, forestalling any comments from the hybrid, "Trust me, the dreams will be quite vivid and detailed. I did this myself, when I was thirteen."

Veronica nods, then places the book on the end table, smiling as she thinks of something, "How are your two scamps doing lately? I miss hearing about the mayhem they pulled in the daycare. Though it seems the two you bring with you now are taking up the slack."

Gwen laughs, accepting the change of topic, "Oh, they're terrorizing their teacher something fierce." She then speaks up, "Richard, Kacey, come on out here, Veronica's visiting."

With a cheer two skunkoon hybrids race from their bedroom and run up to meet Veronica, Richard barely in the lead, "Heya 'Roni, we missed you lots!" His twin sister Kacey nodding then chiming in, "We don't get to see you now we're in kindergarten!"

Veronica hugs the two cubs and smiles, "I miss seeing you two also, I don't get to hear what mischief you've pulled lately any more." She then lowers her voice, conspiratorially, "And I miss you guys sneaking the sweets I had hidden in my desk." She glances at Gwen and catches the glint of humor she sees there, and knows that the femme knew her kits were getting sweets from her.

Kacey giggles at the fake whispering, "We told Rick and Kelso that you had sweets, but they're not as good about sneaking away."

Richard nods at this, then grins at Kacey, "Well, they can't say 'I need to see my mommie' like we did, sis."

Shaking her head at the two kits, Gwen asks "And how many times did I know why you were really coming up?"

Both kits look startled at their mother's revelation, their ears drooping, "Aww, mom! We thought we were being sneaky!" pouts Kacey.

Veronica laughs at this, "Mothers do know more than they let on, cuties. Just remember to ask yourself: 'Am I going to get in trouble for this?' If the answer is yes, then your best bet is not to do it."

Kacey nods, "Right, 'Roni," using the nickname she'd come up with, when she had had trouble saying 'Veronica', back in pre-school.

Richard nods as well, then looks to Gwen, "I'm done with my homework, can I go play in the yard?"

Gwen smiles, "Certainly, just be careful, Uncle Kass is practicing out there."

The young male skunkoon's eyes brighten at this, "Watchin' Uncle Kass is cool! He's been showin' me all sorts of fun things."

With a fond sparkle, Gwen smiles, knowing exactly what the snow leopard is teaching her children, "Well, why don't you go see if he's got anything special for you, then?"

Richard beams at his mother, then races for the inner yard where Kass usually works out.

Veronica just shakes her head, "What an amazing child you have there." She then looks at Gwen, "So I'll finally get a chance to meet the mysterious Kass?"

Gwen blinks, then thinks back, Kass had been away at the training facility for most of the time Veronica had been in Seattle, his brief times back had never coincided with one of Veronica's visits, "Indeed you shall, and perhaps now is the best time, since the whirling dervish that is my son's about to interrupt him anyway." She then motions for the hybrid femme to follow her, "He's typically in the inner courtyard this time of day, doing his workout. He won't mind us interrupting, especially since I need to introduce you as well."

Nodding, Veronica follows Gwen, "What sort of workout is he doing? I know there's no weight machines out there in the courtyard." Gwen can sense she's intensely curious about Kass, judging from the things she's heard when the fur's been mentioned, "And I'm guessing he knows about this, as well," indicating the book on the table.

Smiling as she looks over her shoulder at Veronica, Gwen nods, "Oh, yes, everyone who lives here knows about magick, and the adults each have their own special way of accessing it, and using it." She then pushes aside the screen door out to the courtyard, "As for what kind of workout, Kass practices a couple forms of martial arts, and is considered to be a Tai-Chi Master as well as various forms known by Shao-lin monks."

Veronica's eyes light up at this, "Sounds interesting. I took up Tae-Kwon-Do, myself, partially to learn how to defend myself, but mainly to learn control." As she follows Gwen, she sighs, "Learning how not to maul an idiot for simply bumping into me was high priority, with my heritage."

Gwen pauses and takes Veronica's hands in hers, "I know it must be hard, hon, and harder still with the events of your childhood. But now you're a successful woman, with a job most folks would balk at trying to conquer, and one of my friends." She looks into the hybrid's eyes, "No matter what, remember that if you need to talk, I am here, be it at work or after hours, if you feel things are getting too much for you, I'm willing to listen … as will anyone in this household, isn't that right, Kass?"

Kass smiles, having set Richard up with the workout he feels would be good for the skunkoon, and hearing Gwen's voice as well as a stranger's, he had chosen to investigate, "Indeed, Gwen. Though perhaps introductions should take place before we talk about other things."

Muzzle fluffing slightly at this, Gwen smiles, "Veronica Dae Wynne, I'd like you to meet Captain Kassir Ujinkhan, though he prefers to be called 'Kass'." She then turns to Veronica, who's eyes have gotten a bit wider, since she wasn't aware that Kass had come up behind her, and smiles, "And, Kass, next time you investigate, you might let your quarry catch your scent, at least in my home," she says chidingly, feeling Veronica's claws pressing slightly into her palms.

Shaking herself out of her first reaction of hearing Kass behind her, Veronica smiles at Gwen, and releases the skunk femme's paws. She then turns to face Kass and smiles, taking in his honed physique, her muzzle only fluffing minimally at his nudity, "Greetings, Kass," offering her right paw, "And Gwen's right, at least for a couple species. For both Skunks and Wolverines it is best not to startle them too much, and seeing as I'm both . . ." she lets Kass do the figuring out from there, knowing that Gwen would not harbor anyone with Purist leanings in her home.

His eyes widening as Veronica turns towards him, taking in the figure of the femme before him, _"Kel was right, she is attractively padded, but I can see she also keeps herself in shape."_ He extends his paw to take hers and shakes it, "Greetings, Veronica. I've heard a lot about you from my mate and Gwen, I look forward to gaining my own perception of you as well," nodding his head at her well meant chiding words, _"Skunk __and__ Wolverine? Eep, boy am I glad she seems a friendly sort, and has had some training in controlling her urges."_ "Thanks for reminding me, miss. While I've never had either a skunk or wolverine trainee, I have had the opportunity to work with a few, and I should have remembered to let my scent precede me here, where it's safe to do so."

Gwen motions for them to seat themselves on a bench just outside the 'designated' workout area, her son going through the motions of a complicated kata, the form one which more extensive sets of moves can be built on, the young skunkoon concentrating on getting the moves right, for now, not bothering with speed until he feels he can do the entire kata without errors, "Veronica's one of the furs who moved to Seattle with my company, Kass."

Veronica nods, "I'm glad I did. Boston was such a hive of Purists, I keep finding myself wondering why my family stays there." She looks up into Kass' eyes, "Has Gwen told you anything about me?" she asks, her eyes showing some of the pain she holds within, the telling of her story allowing her to share the burden amongst friends, lessening the load that she has to carry alone.

Kass shakes his head no, "Not really, just that she's glad she found you, and that you're one of the furs who keeps her from going crazy dealing with the politics of the companies she runs."

Listening with more than her ears, Gwen moves closer to Veronica, projecting acceptance and love for all she's worth, emotionally supporting the hybrid femme as she tells of her past, knowing Kass might be able to at least ease her anguish at what happened.

With a nod, her senses telling her Kass is someone who she can trust and who will not judge her for her choices, "I do try my best." She then closes her eyes, "My birth parents were murdered when I was five years old; I witnessed it from underneath their bed." She pauses to wipe away tears, "When the cops came, they found me, cradled in my mother's arms, covered in her blood, having said goodbye to her." She sobs softly, "My dad died defending my mom and myself. The furs who committed the crime were caught, partly because I could remember both their voices and their scents, but also since they were stupid and left their prints all over the house. I learned at the trial they were Purists, who didn't like the fact my mom and dad were happy together."

Kass takes Veronica's paws in his and strokes their tops, letting her tell her story and letting her know that she is safe, _"Gods, what a thing to witness, no matter the age."_

Gwen strokes Veronica's shoulders, keeping the stress from building up at things which could no longer be changed. She smiles over Veronica's shoulder at Kass, [_**I don't know why she's telling this now, but she needs to do this.]**_

Veronica smiles up at Kass, then turns and cheekily licks Gwen's nose, "Once the trial started, it wasn't safe for me to stay at the orphanage, and no normal foster family would take me in, mostly due to my hybrid heritage," saying the last bit with a dose of venom for those who were too 'pure' to either foster or adopt a hybrid child. "Fortunately for me, there was one family who was adopting older, hybrid children. My new mom and dad were too dissimilar to have children of their own, but thankfully they chose to spread their love to the children they adopted. As of the last time I talked to them, I have twenty 'brothers' and 'sisters', each a hybrid who would have had a harder time in life without them."

Kass smiles at this, knowing a few couples who did such things, himself. Looking back at Gwen he chuckles and shrugs his shoulders a little, [_**I agree that she needs to do this. And one of my grandfather's sayings is: Pain shared is pain halved. Every time she tells someone about what happened, the amount of pain she's carrying gets halved. It won't ever go away, but it can be greatly lessened.]**_

Veronica tells more of her tale, gradually coming to the point where she got hired at Gwen's mother's company, telling of the trials that she went through there, all the time simply letting the burden she carries be shared, she finishes up with meeting Vince for the first time, "He was a true gentlefur, and I do look forward to getting to know him a bit better." She then flushes, remembering her 'fantasy', "That's my story, thanks for listening, Kass."

Gwen smiles as she hugs Veronica from behind, being a supportive presence, "Feel better, sweetie?" She knows how much her presence helps Veronica, being a true friend.

Kass moves closer, and with a look to make sure it's okay with Veronica, hugs the femme as well, "I thank you for telling me about yourself." He gets a sense about the hybrid femme, that while she finds him attractive, she prefers the company of femmes, not that it matters in the long run, for love is universal and all encompassing, "If you feel the need to talk more, or simply vent, if I'm here, feel free to ask for help. It will be freely given."

Veronica smiles and then murmurs, "Thanks." She then looks into Kass' eyes and says, "You would get along great with my folks, you have the same feeling they do, of acceptance, no matter what shape the outside encompasses, they love all their family, unconditionally, no matter how strange they may be."

Both Gwen and Kass smile at this, the skunkette smiling more because she's had a chance to meet Veronica's family.

Veronica looks at Gwen, "Mind if I crash here tonight? It's been a long day and I don't know if I trust myself behind the wheel."

The skunkette shakes her head, "No, hon, I don't mind. I've already prepared dinner with you staying in mind, as well. This way you can also talk to Kelso, Kass' mate, and Rick when they get home from work."

Sighing, Veronica nods. She's glad she has the Coonas' as a sort of 'extended family' that she can count on to support her when she needs them.

# # #

Returning home, Kessira is startled to find the maintenance furs that work around the apartment complex waiting for her, the older one, a Doberman by the name of Klauss, smiling as he sees her.

He steps up and offers Kessira a set of keys, "Hey Miss Tigris, glad we caught you. Boss heard what happened and detailed us to replace your door. We just finished, had a wee bit of trouble with the old one, seems like the miscreant warped it a bit when he broke through the mail slot. These are the new keys to the new lock on the new door."

Kessira nods, "Thanks Klauss, and you too Rusty, I appreciate how quickly you got this done." She smiles at Klauss' apprentice, Rusty, a Whippet / Irish Setter mix, who always seems so shy around femmes, "How's school going?"

Rusty's muzzle fluffs a little, "Gonna be done with my associates next year, Boss here wants me to get a full masters' degree before I get a chance to solo."

She nods, "It's a good plan to have more than one skill in case something happens to your main profession." She then thinks, "You're at the local community college, right? Where are you planning on heading for your Bachelor's degree?"

Smiling, Rusty says, "Well, provided my grades keep up the way they are, I've my choice of Antioch, Seattle Pacific, Seattle U, University of Washington, and Bainbridge. I want to stay local, if at all possible."

Kessira nods, "Sounds like you've been doing pretty good with your grades, some of those you listed are hard to get into."

Klauss smiles, "He's a good kid, doesn't shirk his homework for real work, he'll do good, and eventually replace me here, when I choose to retire." He ruffles the head fur of the younger canine, "Plus he's got a good head on his shoulders. When those Purist idiots tried recruiting him for their Pack, he turned 'em down, and told 'em that if they ever tried again, he'd turn witness against 'em."

She tilts her head, "There's a bunch of canine Purists? That's not welcome news. I'll definitely beef up the security where I work." _"And perhaps get a message to Vince."_

Rusty nods, "Call t'emselves 'The Pack'. Bunch o' right wing nutcases, the lot of 'em. Said t'at I was Pure enough for 'em to recruit me, what e'er t'at meant." The canine's Irish heritage coming out in his clipped words as he becomes agitated talking about the encounter.

Kessira places a paw on Rusty's shoulder, "Well, I for one believe you made the right choice in avoiding their recruitment." She then gets a mischievous glint in her eyes, "You're going to be around this weekend, Rusty?"

The young canine nods and looks curiously at Kessira, "I should be miss. Klauss wants me to be working on replacing the lights here with Compact Fluorescent bulbs, if the savings is like they claim, it'll make for more funds for other projects that we've been waiting on."

She nods, "I'll remember that. I've already replaced as many as I can in my apartment. I like the light they give off, seems more 'bright' to me."

Rusty nods, "I'll make a note of that, miss. I guess that only leaves the ceiling lights to replace in your unit, right?"

Kessira nods, "Right, Rusty. I'll be home the whole weekend, so when ever's good for you, let me know." _"And the reason I'm home all weekend, instead of just Sunday, is my younger sister's coming to visit. If you can resist Kumiko's charms, I'll put you up for sainthood."_ She then bids the canines goodnight, entering her home and locking her new door behind her, letting out a sigh of relief that her day's finally over.

# # #

Vince and Jo-Ann arrive at her place, Vince carrying in the extra groceries that Jo-Ann stopped for on the way home, the raccoon femme smiling as she unlocks the door, "My dad wants to meet you soon, just to let you know."

Vince nods, "I let my mother know I'd met someone special and got treated to her version of a very thorough interrogation." He smiles sheepishly at Jo-Ann, "She seemed very interested in the fact that you're a raccoon and teased me about taking after her in more than just size."

Jo-Ann laughs, "That's right, your mom's the cougar and your dad's a raccoon." She then tilts her head as she closes and locks the door behind her, "When should I expect to meet your folks?"

He smiles, "Not for another month, at the least, they're over in London for the next week and a half, visiting my twin sister, Cassidy, who's studying abroad right now."

She blinks, "This is the first time you've mentioned a sibling, dear. Am I missing something?"

Vince taps his muzzle, "No, I am. My sister and I don't exactly get along, partly due to the fact we're quite different personalities. I'm the active go-getter and she's always been the learner. I do try to keep in touch with her, but it's easier through my parents. I also have a pair of younger sisters, Jazmyn and Candice, age twelve and ten respectively. Myself and Candice are the only ones who took physically after my mom, though Candice's raccoon stripes are much more prominent than mine."

Jo-Ann nods, listening and learning more about her mate, "Sounds like a big family. I'm sorry to hear you and your twin don't get along, it must be a strain at times."

He nods, "We've been trying to mend the fences for the last couple of years. It helps, now, that she can see that I do take learning a lot more seriously than she ever perceived I did. Another thing that's helping is she can understand my need to do my job the way I do. My mom pointed out that pursuing the knowledge she seeks is like me pursuing someone who's causing a problem. Each of us is quite tenacious in getting the result we desire." He then places the bags in the kitchen, "And I've heard rumor she's found a boyfriend of her own, which is why my folks went visiting."

She smiles and comes up behind Vince and gives him a hug, "I'd say you were quite tenacious in showing me just how you desired me, lover."

Vince's muzzle fluffs mildly, "I'd say I was inspired by my love, and I'd also say that my lover was quite adept at showing her desires as well." He turns in her arms and gathers the femme in a hug, kissing her happily on her muzzle, "And I'm grateful that I got the chance to let you know how much I care about you."

Jo-Ann smiles at the kiss, "As am I, love."

At this point the twins, having spied on Jo-Ann and Vince, run into the room and hug the two, Richard asking, "Is mister Vince gonna be staying with us for a while, mommie?"

Kelso managing to latch herself onto Vince's tail in the hug, "I want him to stay with us. He's a nice fur." She then looks up at Vince, her guileless eyes full of innocence as she says, "You'd make a wonderful daddy!"

Vince looks quite stunned at Kelso's statement, then looks to Jo-Ann before answering, "Well, sweetie, that's entirely up to your mother. While I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to be a Daddy for you, I wouldn't want to make your mother upset by causing her to do something she doesn't want to do."

Jo-Ann's muzzle fluffs furiously, first at her daughter's words, then Vince's. She then looks into Vince's eyes, "If I were asked the right way, I would say yes."

The twins giggle at the two grown-ups, both quite certain that they've done the right thing by doing what they did, they then release their hug and start putting the groceries away, seeming to ignore Vince and Jo-Ann.

Vince looks into Jo-Ann's eyes, "My love, will you be mine to love, to cherish, to obey, to spend the rest of my life with, however long that may be?" He gets down on one knee, "I lack a ring to signify what I am asking at this moment, but I ask you, Jo-Ann, will you be my wife?"

Jo-Ann stares at Vince as he says his piece, then her muzzle drops open as he gets down on one knee. Gathering her scattered wits, she nods, then hugs Vince, "Yes, my love, I will. And I too ask you, will you be mine to love, cherish, and obey, for the rest of my life? Will you be the partner I need and desire . . ." Her eyes fill with tears as she knows this will also lead to her telling him about her fantasies that she indulges in, though she feels that having Vince perform with her will make it a whole new experience.

He nods, "Yes, Jo-Ann, I do." He then grins, "Shall we spread the news amongst our friends tonight?"

She then giggles and nods, "Though I do wish I could see their faces when they hear the news."

# # #

Charles Procyon sat back in the chair he'd bought recently for the apartment he'd moved into after the tumultuous Thanksgiving where his daughter had been victimized by the other members of her family. Other than retrieving a few keepsakes from that place, he had not encountered any of the folks who had so venomously sought to hurt his daughter because of her choices in life. He closes his eyes as he relaxes and smiles, thinking on his grand-kits, choosing to concentrate on the positive.

His thoughts are interrupted by the ring of his phone. Looking at the caller ID he picks it up, "Hey Jo-Ann, how's my daughter doing today? I was just thinking of you."

Smiling at the answer, he then chuckles as he hears the reason for the phone call, "I definitely have to meet this young man soon, then. I want to meet the male who swept my daughter off her feet so thoroughly!" Another chuckle is uttered as he says, "Oh, and no eloping, sweetie, I want you to have the wedding you deserve!" After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he says, "How's this weekend sound? Oh? There's a party at the Coona's next weekend? Might be for the best, and I'll invite your brother as well, so your beau can meet your family. See you then, sweetie."

# # #

Gwen answers the phone at the Coona residence, "Yes, Jo-Ann?" She then shrieks, happily, alerting the rest of the residents that good news is on the phone.

Rick picks up the extension in the kitchen, "Something special happen, Jo-Ann? Gwen just shrieked!" He then listens to the answer and chuckles, "Yes, when you find that 'someone special' things can happen quickly."

Kel and Kass enter the kitchen and look at Rick questioningly.

Rick places his paw over the paw-set, "Vince proposed to Jo-Ann tonight. We're going to be expecting at least two more at the barbecue, as her dad and brother are also coming."

Kel grins, "That's terrific news!"

Kass nods, though he's thinking to himself, _"I wonder when Jo-Ann's going to be springing her 'fantasy' on him, and how much training will he need to be able to be a full partner that way too?"_

Gwen is chattering away on the phone with Jo-Ann, going over the details again on the 'femmes night out' they had planned, she knows Kacy, Rick's sister, is coming up for the barbecue, and will be staying for a week to 'de-stress', "I'll let Kacy know, hon, and also Cassy. I'm sure Rick's let Kel and Kass in on your good news, so I'd say the only other furs I'd let know would be Katherine, your partner and anyone at your precinct that you want to tell." She then listens to the goodbye, "Have a good night, hon!"

# # #

Deidre Panthris picks up the phone in the suite she and her husband are staying at, "Miz Panthris here . . ." She then smiles, "Hi there, son, how are you? I bet you're glad I'm an early bird, seeing as it's five in the morning here." She then grins, "What's that? You did?! Congratulations, hon! Let me speak to her, Please? Hi there. Oh, please, call me Deidre. Oh, I insist, especially if you're becoming a part of the family. You're Doctor Procyon's daughter, right? Yes, I've heard of your father. I do agree that the wedding will be spectacular! No worries, dear. I'm sure I can convince his sister to attend too." She then smiles at the sleeping form of her husband, "I'm sure you'll get a call in your morning. Hope you two have a great night!"

The femme then smiles as she hangs up, "Looks like I might be a grandmother sooner than I thought."

**End Chapter 3**


	4. Storm Brewing

My thanks to Rick Coona and his alter ego, Joe Martelle, for their kind permission to write this story in their universe. Their comments and encouragement have been instrumental in bringing this story to life.

George Woodrow 4 - 2009

Kassir Ujinkhan, Joe Fenris, Carol Fenris, Jeff Salters, Michelle Musteline, George MacInnes, Tim Johansen, Bill Richards, George Leonis, Phil Leonis, Leona Felis Leonis, Lynne Smyth, Michael Pardis, Christine Uncia, Karl Ursiris, Richard Kassir Charles Procyon, Kelso Gwenwyfar Procyon, Janice Lynne Ujinkhan, Alexander Kassir Ujinkhan, Harold Hendrikson, Susan Blackstone © Chuck Percy

TigerMark, MarcBrannigan© His Player

Rick Coona, Gwen Smith Coona, Kacy "KC" Coona, Kirk Otterman, Mike Ferretti, Cassy Bhunny Ferretti, Max Badger, Kath Badger, Bill Badger, Ted Badger, Bruno, Lupé Carlotta, Panda Phil, Jo-Ann Procyon, Charles Procyon, Marcus Procyon, Jack Canus, Esmerelda Smyth, Richard Coona, Helen Coona, Max Coona, Sally Coona, Kacey Kelso Coona, Richard Randolph Coona, . © Joe Martelle

Vince Panthris, Veronica Dae Wynne, Kessira "Ghost" Tigris, Valerie Vulpes, FursList, FurMail, Dwight "Scratcher" Daniels, Molly Daniels, Clyve "Spots" Asher, Purity Spices, Janice Wyld, Albert Wyld, Lance Fenrir, Claire Kurisawa, Dwight Lupin, William 'Wild Bill' Strynger, Tymoth Edwards, Annalisa Snowpaws, Mykhail Friedrich, Geoffry Oceanis, Annette Oceanis, Sylvia Oceanis, Stevie, Cliff, Malachi, Zeke, Deke, The Children of the Pure Moon, Wylde Longstride, Reginald Blackfeather, Blake Paguma, Miz Swenson, Sylvia Paguma, Julio Vulpes, Francine Woolmyra, Zarius Zoaster Wylfgar the Third, Quinn Tallman, Lancir Concolor Pantheris, Anisu Christie, Simon Whyte, Kodi Adams, Klauss , Rusty McCloud, Kumiko Tigris, Jazmyn Panthris, Candice Panthris, Deidre Panthris, Zorin Lynxicata, Dennis 'Raix' Stringer, Jayce Terwilliger, Sid Maul, Chuckie Sweil, Luke Feriss, Dicer, Dionn Shage, Blackie Felin, Keitaro, Harry Panthris, Royce Grummand, Charity Skye, Raynor Shipping © George Woodrow 4

Any resemblance to any fur, living, dead, or imagined by anyone else is purely coincidental and unintentional.

**Chapter 4 – Storm Brewing**

Jo-Ann mrrs as she feels an arm circling her waist from behind when she stirs, truly amazed at how 'right' it feels to have him there. She looks at the alarm beside the bed and smiles to herself. _"Half an hour until the alarm goes off. Time enough to have a bit of fun before I have to go into work."_ She turns over and faces Vince muzzle to muzzle, admiring the strength evident in the fur even when he's asleep, she then kisses his nose and murmurs, "Sweetie, why don't we get up a bit early and shower together?"

Vince gives an odd half-purr at the kiss, then as he opens his eyes, he smiles, "Might be an idea, we did celebrate rather enthusiastically last night. I also need to be awake when mom calls back. I think she'll wait until 9AM our time to call, but she's been known to surprise me, on occasion." He then raises a paw to caress his mate's muzzle, "And I hope our union is as full of pleasant surprises as my parents' has been."

She blushes, her muzzle fur fluffing, then nods, "Why don't we head for the shower?" Jo-Ann thinking briefly on the turmoil that had come to roost in her own family, and wondering what this latest development would bring from those who had shunned her so vehemently for her lifestyle.

Seeing the sad look on Jo-Ann's muzzle, Vince brings his hand up to bring her eyes back up to his, "No matter your past, no matter who hurt you, remember that I'm here for you now, and we'll face those that try to bring you down together with you, side by side."

Jo-Ann nods and brightens, then giving an impish giggle, she snatches the sheets from the bed and runs for the shower, her tail waving like a banner behind her, "C'mon, slow poke, we've got to get our shower done before the munchkins get up!"

Vince gives his head a shake at his mate's playfulness before giving chase, catching up to her in the bathroom, the sheets discarded in a pile by the hamper. In a display of affection, he presses her up against the back wall of the shower and kisses her forcefully, "Caught you, my love!"

She chirrs lustfully at being 'caught' and smiles at Vince, "And now what shall you do, my love?" A stray thought crossing her mind, _"He might not have Kass' training, but, damn does he have me aroused already. I feel I'm going to need Kass' help explaining everything to him, but I also feel that Vince will not have any problem being my 'Pirate Captain' any time I need a bit of stress relief."_

He smiles, then turns on the water, "Oh, make sure my lovely mate is fully clean, including all those 'hard to reach spots'."

Once the water reaches a good temperature, Vince guides Jo-Ann under the stream of water, filling his hands with the soap. He's learned that he really enjoys the activity of washing the lithe and lovely femme that is his mate, watching her reaction as he teases her with where he applies the soap, "Where shall I start first?" he muses aloud, teasingly.

Jo-Ann shivers at her mate's touch, enjoying the feel of him washing her, as well as enjoying putting her hands all over him as she reciprocates the favor, "Wherever you desire, my love."

Vince purrs, then wincing only a little, gets on his knees, placing his muzzle on a level with his mate's waist, "I think I'll work my way up, how's that sound to you?"

_He__ then gently places the tip of his muzzle against her Mons, his tongue sticking out and covering the very finely furred outside of his mate's sex, a rumbling purr drawn from him as he realizes she's already wet down there. __"I wonder what brought this on? I know it's because of me. I'll ask later, once we're less distracted."_

Giving a startled gasp of pleasure as she feels Vince's muzzle pressing against her sex, Jo-Ann places her hands on the small ledge where small things can be set, bracing herself as she widens her stance in eagerness and invitation, letting the water run down her body as she looks down at her mate. Suddenly a flash of a vision startles her, a view of nearly the same situation, but the bathroom looking much more luxurious and a sense of humidity, and a brief glimpse of an envelope with the words, 'Happy Honeymoon' scrawled in an unknown fur's handwriting laying on a bedside table. The vision evaporates when she feels her mate's tongue parting her outer lips, her hands now coming to rest on Vince's head, her fingers clenching his head fur in pleasure as she wordlessly encourages him in his actions.

Feeling her fingers tangling in his hair, Vince purrs as he extends his tongue deeper into his mate, his hands coming up to part her outer lips and allow easier attention to the treasures within. He also feels the stirring of his maleness as he catches Jo-Ann's scent, and tastes her heat. Once he finds her clitoris he concentrates more of his attention on the sensitive organ, but does not neglect the rest of her sex.

Jo-Ann gives a squeaking 'chirr' when she feels her mate find her clitoris, her hands grasping harder briefly before simply holding herself upright as her knees get weak with the feeling of pleasure washing up her body. Each jolt of pleasure that she feels bringing forth a contracting of her hands and a tremor through her body, her eyes closing as she lets herself enjoy the pleasure her mate's bringing to her.

Vince smiles to himself, letting his purr vibrate his muzzle against Jo-Ann's sex as he deftly licks, his hands bracing her legs as he feels her quivering, enjoying the tastes he gets with each. Encouraged by his mate's actions, he concentrates more on her clitoris, engulfing it in the tip of his muzzle, then briefly sucking at it, before using the raspy nature of his tongue to its full extent, seeking to bring his mate to a climax before joining her in pleasure.

Spasming at the feel of her mate's lips on that sensitive place, Jo-Ann's fingers clamp tight on the fur they're holding onto, her legs shivering as she rides the wave of pleasure Vince is paying to her, the feel of the rough side of his tongue bringing her to her peak with spectacular results. Her legs clamp tight against Vince's head as she clings to the wall to the best of her ability, the wave of pleasure locking her muzzle around the yell of pleasure she feels building.

Once released from the peak, she looks down at Vince and says, "Come up here, my love, and let me reward you for that magnificent effort."

Vince smiles at his mate's 'command', then with a minimum of effort, stands up, revealing his maleness standing at full erectness, the sheath pushed out of the way. When he stands up, his penis rests so the tip just snugs into the underside of her cleavage until she gets her feet more under her. He smiles into her eyes, "The effort isn't done yet, my love, if you're willing and ready?"

Jo-Ann grins, then nods as she strokes his maleness, enjoying the feel of it, and knowing it combines what she loves about both feline and raccoon features, and quite ready to feel it within her. She then murmurs, "Let me have it, my love." _"I only wish I could give you cubs right now, my handsome hunk, but that will have to wait for our honeymoon."_

His hands gripping Jo-Ann's tush, Vince gently guides his maleness into her sex, enjoying the feel of his mate around him, the difference in their heights just enough to make things interesting. Once he feels his mate's comfortable, he starts making love to her, his hands full of her ass as he thrusts the length of his maleness within her, feeling her legs wrapping around his waist and her arms around his neck, her breasts jiggling slightly as they're trapped against his chest. Each thrust partnered by a pleased growl from both partners as they let themselves go in this show of shared pleasure.

Closing her eyes as she feels her mate plowing her deeply, Jo-Ann grins, enjoying the feel of him pressing her tight against the wall, even though she knows he could support her even standing straight up, this position allowing him to penetrate deeply, the tip of his cock kissing her cervix enticingly with each full stroke. She the murrs, "Give it all to me, my love, don't hold back," in as close to her 'victim' voice as she's gotten out of role-play. This draws a note of surprise in her inner thoughts, but it's forgotten as she feels Vince thrusting harder and faster, the sensations bringing her more pleasure as well, the feel of her nipples brushing against his chest fur only adding to the pleasure that she derives.

Vince, hearing Jo-Ann's words, growls hungrily and gently takes his mate's neck in his muzzle, not biting down at all, but holding it there as he mates with her, his cock driving deep and true within her as he strives to bring himself to completion, and bring his mate there as well.

With a shriek of pleasure, Jo-Ann clings to her mate as she climaxes once again, her body clinging to his as she shivers with reaction, her sex milking at his cock as she rides his thrusts hungrily, waiting to feel his seed erupt within her.

He growls at this, his climax triggered by the feel of hers, the feel of her vaginal walls tightening rhythmically around his cock driving him over the edge, his balls emptying his seed into her waiting womb in spasming jets. Vince closes his eyes as he trembles with reaction, his thick tail swishing behind him as he slowly releases Jo-Ann and lets her feet touch the shower floor.

Opening his eyes he finds her looking at him with a smile, "Honey, you keep that up and we may have to speed the wedding up." The raccoon femme then caresses Vince's chest, "But we can talk more about that after we've washed up and gotten dressed for our days."

Vince nods, "Fair enough, My Love, and since I was so terribly rude and got you messy, I'll help you clean up first." He then gets a paw full of shampoo and begins soaping Jo-Ann's back, taking pleasure in this simple act of mutual grooming.

Jo-Ann grins at this and soaps up her front, making sure to remove any lasting legacy of their love making, a predatory smile crossing her muzzle as she ponders the best moment to take herself back off her birth control. _"I think I'll time it for our wedding, so that any honeymoon we go on will be extra special."_

Gathering more shampoo, Vince works his fingers through the fluff of Jo-Ann's tail, grinning as certain spots cause the femme to briefly stand on her tiptoes in reaction. One such spot being right above the base of the tail on her back, but he doesn't linger over any one spot for too long, since he knows they've used up their 'fun time' already this morning.

Smiling as she turns to face her mate, Jo-Ann looks into his eyes, "And what, exactly, do you have planned for today?" While waiting for the answer, she lathers up his chest, enjoying the feel of his muscles under her fingers.

Vince kisses Jo-Ann's nose, "Talking to my mother, for one. Then I have a few chores I need to run, including buying a few supplies I need. I'm also going to be stopping by one of the local music stores that I know carries a lot of the music I had already, and start replacing some of what got trashed."

Jo-Ann nods, "Keep in touch, please. We know there's a bunch of dim bulbs out there who want a piece of you." She finishes soaping his chest, while rinsing off her back, "I've got to get dressed for work. You finish up in here and get ready for your day."

Nodding, he gives her a soft kiss before watching her get out and dry herself off. He then shakes his head, reminding himself that he needs to finish up in here so he has plenty of time for everything he needs to do, _"And if I know my mother, one of those stops will be to pick up Grandma Pantheris' engagement band. It may need to be resized to fit Jo-Ann, but I know mom wants it to be passed down to the next generation."_

Giving her tail a flick, Jo-Ann stands in the fur dryer, feeling the last vestiges of dampness leave her fur, her eyes glancing at Vince through the shower door, a delighted smile plastering itself on her muzzle as she watches him rinse himself off, _"I wonder what our cubs would look like. Probably take more after the 'coon side, being three quarters raccoon. I just know he'll be a good father."_

She then exits the bathroom and enters the bedroom, pulling together her outfit for the day, talking to herself out loud as she does so, "All right, let's see. I didn't hear of anything that should take me out of the precinct today, but I should be prepared anyway." She gathers a smart looking outfit that could work on a stake out if needed, dressing a bit more warmly as she remembers the forecast calling for colder temperatures, with a chance of light precipitation, _"It's bloody Seattle, that 'chance' is a guaranteed part of their everyday routine. I wish those furs on the radio station would show a little imagination in describing the forecast."_

Vince pads into the bedroom, catching Jo-Ann half dressed, and smiles, getting his own clothes out for the day. He picks out an outfit suited more for comfort and ease of motion, while also able to hide the armor he wears whenever he leaves his home. That last thought causes him to pause, briefly, then smile as he adjusts his knee brace so that it doesn't damage the fur underneath it, _"__This__ is my home, wherever Jo-Ann happens to be."_ He then adjusts each section of the armor so it doesn't show itself through what he's wearing.

Jo-Ann pauses to watch Vince put on his armor, smiling at him as she does so, "You ever going to tell me why you spent so much of your pay on that stuff? I know it's not cheap, as I've gotten catalogs with it in there." She's finishing putting herself together, adding little touches of makeup to her lashes and lips.

Turning to face Jo-Ann, Vince smiles, "Partly it was due to advice the captain of my old precinct gave me. Captain Zorin Lynxicata mentored me when I joined the force, showing me a few of the ropes before partnering me with Detective Kodi Adams, who taught me a lot more about what being a patrol officer meant, especially in some of the rougher neighborhoods."

Perking her ears at the names mentioned, Jo-Ann thinks briefly, then stares at Vince, "You were partnered with Cannonball Kodi? I met him once, when I was working the border between our precincts. We teamed up to take down a rather nasty den of fur traders."

Vince nods, "I was on medical leave for that, unfortunately. I had been chasing a perp, a scrawny waste of fur by the name of Dennis 'Raix' Stringer." Closing his eyes, briefly, "I had been chasing him down through a series of alleyways, and caught up to him while he was attempting to climb a ten foot chain-link fence. Problem was, I landed badly, taking him down, because his struggles threw me off balance, and I ended up dislocating my right kneecap and tearing the meniscus." He unconsciously rubs his knee, as he remembers the pain, "Fortunately, back-up was moments behind me, and Stringer got put away for a while."

Jo-Ann moves so her hand can cover his, "But that wasn't when you started wearing the armor."

Smiling at his mate, Vince nods, "No, I'd been wearing it since about my first year on the beat. I'd bought pieces as I could, and somehow, within a month or two of me doing so, someone would always try to take me out of their way by attacking the newly armored area." He then points to a spot on the chest armor, "This was all that stopped a bullet that went through my vest. Missed the Trauma plate entirely, and if I hadn't been wearing it, I wouldn't be here right now. That was what convinced me to get the entire kit, no matter the cost, or how long it took to do so."

Blinking, Jo-Ann looks at the spot and sees a bit of damage there, then smiles at her mate, "Can I ask you what may seem to be a strange question?"

Vince nods, "You can ask me anything, my love."

Jo-Ann blushes, then looks into Vince's eyes, "When purchasing the pieces, did you ever get a 'feeling' that the piece you were looking at was what you'd need soon, as if something was warning you that you'd need extra protection there?"

Tilting his head to think, Vince ponders his mate's question, "Not that I can actively remember, though I do recall that prior to each purchase I had noticed a small feral fox in my neighborhood, but that's the only thing that stands out to me, right now."

She nods, then adds the final touches to her outfit, "See you tonight, my love?"

Vince nods, "Most definitely, my love. I will be counting the hours until I see you again."

Jo-Ann blushes, then goes about getting the cubs ready, "Vince, can you take Richard and Kelso to school for me?"

He smiles as he exits the bedroom, which draws a giggle from the twins, "Certainly, Jo-Ann. I know where it's located, and it's close to where my first stop of the day is anyway."

She kissed Richard and Kelso good bye, "You be good today."

Richard nods, "Yes mom."

Kelso hugs Jo-Ann hard, "You be careful mom."

Jo-Ann hugs her children, then Vince, then heads out the door, grinning widely as she heads down to her car, _"Something tells me this day is going to be extra special."_

Vince looks at the twins, "Okay, you two have breakfast yet?" Receiving nods in the affirmative, he smiles, "Fair enough. Let me grab a pastry and we'll head down to my car and I can take you to school." He makes a quick trip into the kitchen and grabs a foil-wrapped package of Pop-Tarts™ before gathering the two cubs up and, making sure he has his keys, locks the apartment up.

Richard and Kelso start chattering about what they expect to learn in school today, Richard looking forward to the math section and Kelso looking forward to what new books the teacher might have for her.

Upon reaching the floor of the parking structure where he had parked, Vince looks out of the opening door, checking for anything that doesn't look right, "All right, kids, my car's over this way." He then leads them to 'Black Beauty', noting with a grin that Jo-Ann had transferred the seats he'd need for the kids over to his back seat. Unlocking the door, he gestures for them to enter the car, "All aboard the midnight express."

Richard is looking over the car intently, "This is a cool car, Mister Panthris, but why's the wheel on the wrong side?"

Kelso giggles, "I think I know. I think this car's special."

Vince nods as he buckles the twins in, "Kelso, you are right, this car is special. You know the country Australia, right?" Receiving two nods in the affirmative, "Well, someone brought this car here from over there, and there they drive on the opposite side of the road from what we do. Ask your teacher about that, I'm sure she knows."

After double-checking to see that the twins are secure in the back seat, Vince settles himself in the driver's seat, then turns the car on. With a bass rumble, the car comes to life, lights coming on as Vince checks his mirrors and checks for incoming traffic. He then carefully puts the vehicle in reverse, backing slowly out of the spot, mindful of the other vehicles around him. Once free of the spot, Vince shifts into first and heads towards the route he was taught, knowing it was likely the best and easiest route to the school. Gradually working his way through the gears, he carefully guides 'Black Beauty' through traffic, getting used to shifting lefty as well as the blind spots the mirrors leave for him.

Pulling into the school lot, Vince smiles as he sees a rather pretty lion femme watching all the cubs entering the school. When his car pulls into a 'visitor' spot, the femme comes over to him and, waiting for the window to come down, says, "Can I help you sir? My name is Miz Swenson." She then notices Richard and Kelso in the back seat, "Oh, hello you two." She then looks back at Vince, "You must be a friend of Jo-Ann's, I guess she was running late this morning and couldn't drop them off herself?"

Vince smiles, "Good morning, Miz Swenson, my name's Vince Panthris." His smile grows larger as the femme notices the twins, "Yes, she was running late, and I'm her fiancée, as of last night."

Miz Swenson's eyes widen at this news, "Well, congratulations, sir. And now let's let these two scamps get inside."

He nods, then, after waiting for the lioness to make room, slips free of the car and helps the twins extricate themselves from the car seats, "Okay you two, you study hard. Good school attitude will carry on to good attitude about the rest of your life."

The lioness grins as she hears this, "I'll be right in, you two." She then turns to Vince, "And nice meeting you, Mr Panthris. I hope to get more of a chance to talk in the future."

Vince nods, "Well, hopefully I'll be attending any Parent Teacher meetings soon enough, once Jo-Ann and I get things settled."

Miz Swenson smiles, "Have a good day, sir." She then turns to the last cubs still milling around outside, playing with bits of things, "All right, you lot, inside, now!" She then runs over to a young antelope, "Kyle, how many times have I told you never to pick up strange things? Honestly!" She then herds the children inside.

Curious as to what Kyle had been playing with, Vince pads over and sees a tennis ball that had obviously seen better days. Picking it up, he then heads back to the car and, fitting on his hands-free, makes a call, "Good morning, Mom. How'd you sleep? Good to hear. How'd dad take the news?" He laughs at the answer he gets, "Tell him that he'll get to play 'Crazy Grandpa Coon' soon enough. I just dropped her cubs off at school and figured this would be the best place to call you two." He listens to what his mother says, "I figured as much. Did you tell Candice yet?" He smiles, then grins as he hears a new voice, "Heya Sis. Yes, it's true. I finally found the femme of my dreams. Oh? Congratulations then, sis. When's the date? Okay, September Nineteenth, Twenty Ten, huh? Going for a Fall wedding, Sis? We haven't set an official date yet, but it does look like we're aiming for a December wedding. No, nothing as silly or stupid as a Christmas Wedding, but we both adore the snow."

Taking a moment to find the charger for his phone, Vince asks, "Any plans on making me 'Uncle Vinnie' once you two are settled? Oh? Really? That's terrific news. How's mom taking it? True, true, and now she'll have lots of grand kits to spoil rotten." Switching ears he says, "Hope I get to meet your beau sometime soon, sis. I used up most of my leave time when I was rehabbing my knee, so serious vacations are out this year. I'm doing better, now. New precinct's full of good furs, just like the old one. Just didn't need a new Evidence fur at my old one. Yah, my job's keeping track of all the boxes of evidence that come into the precinct. I like it, and apparently I'm pretty good at remembering where things that don't fit in the boxes are kept. Yes, it is mostly alphabetical, by year, but sometimes odd shaped stuff gets put wherever it fits best. Too right. Well, tell mom I'll speak to her later, I've got a few chores to take care of. Be well, sis." After hearing his sister's farewell he disconnects the call.

Pulling out of the school parking lot, Vince goes to the right, heading for one of the larger banks in the area, and once safely in the parking lot, heads inside. Once there, he gets the attention of one of the bank managers, "Vince Panthris, here to access the box I have in the vault."

The manager, a rather tired looking porcupine, nods, "Right this way, Mr Panthris, I hope all is in order?"

Vince glances at the male's name tag, "Yes, Mr Terwilliger, I just need to retrieve something my mother put in there."

The porcupine nods, "Call me Jayce, Mr. Panthris. You've got your key, I hope?"

Nodding as he produces the small key, "Right here, Jayce, and I hope you can call me Vince."

Jayce nods, "Right this way, Vince." He then leads the hybrid to the vault, where the security fur lets them in.

Vince turns to the wall where his box is enshrined, along with several hundred others of similar size, he then places his key in the right hand key opening, leaving room for Jayce to put his key in as well.

Motioning for Vince to turn his key, Jayce turns his, then extracts the box from the wall and places it on the table at the rear of the vault.

Following Jayce, Vince smiles as he opens the box, seeing the mementos there, before retrieving a small velvet box. Once he has the small box on the table he opens it and examines what he finds within.

First thing that is visible is a yellowing note, folded delicately atop the contents of the box.

Vince carefully unfolds the note and reads the words within, _"To my precious grandson, I hope one day that you find a femme who can be your partner in life and in love. When you do, I want you to use my engagement band when you propose. This ring has been passed down through several generations of our family this way, and I would dearly love for you to continue that tradition."_ Wiping a tear from his eye as he refolds the note and places it into his shirt pocket, he then studies the revealed ring.

Set in a ring of intertwined gold 'bands', each being no thicker than a feline's claw, is a trio of diamonds, two smaller moon shaped diamonds surrounding a larger heart shaped diamond. The way the jewels catch the available light attests to their clarity and quality.

A smile creasing his muzzle, Vince closes the box and returns the safety deposit box back where it came from, pocketing the ring box as he prepares to exit the vault, "Thanks, Jayce. Got what I needed, this time."

The porcupine nods, and with a rattle of his quills, gestures for Vince to precede him out of the vault, "Glad to be of service, Vince. And good luck."

Vince raises an eyebrow at this, then smiles, "She already said yes, this is to make things 'formal' and right."

Jayce, closing the inner door to the vault, says, "Well, I still wish you luck, Mr. Panthris, for you're about to embark on a journey that will change your life forever." He then turns to the hybrid, "And if you've found the right fur, it can be one of the most amazing adventures you can imagine." He then taps his own wedding band, in reference.

Nodding in acceptance, Vince smiles, "Thank you, sir. And may you have a great day." He then makes his way back out to the parking lot, his mind momentarily on things other than his immediate surroundings.

In an SUV parked in a nearby lot a group of scruffy looking canids is parked, the passenger, looking at the bank, pokes the driver, "Hey, Sid, i'nat the Scumbreed Fuzz dat Stevie an his crew trashed da place of?"

Sid, a purebred malamute peers where the passenger is pointing, "Sure look like him, Chuckie. You wanna call da Alpha an see wha he wan us ta do?"

Chuckie nods and quickly gets out his cell, "Boss, Chuckie here. We's lookin' at dat mixer fuzz dat Stevie got caught tryin' ta teach a lesson ta. You wan us ta play rough wit 'im?" He waits for the answer, "Right, boss. We's got Sid, myself, Luke, an Dicer in dis car. Oh? Good news, boss. Right. I'll keep my phone ready, ta keep da ot'ers knowin' where we at."

Sid then gets the SUV moving, easing into traffic behind Vince, "Tell Deamhain Faolchon that it looks like tha fuzz is drivin' Black Beauty. I'm not hunner percen sure, but it look like it."

Chuckie nods as he forwards the intel, "Oh. Boss don' like dat news. Gonna be innerestin' ta see if da fuzz know what unner tha hood."

Just then another SUV full of canids pulls in behind Sid's SUV, and a 'beep' tells Chuckie he's got a message, "Sweet, boss got sum muscle ta back us up, if'n we need it. Dat's Dionn's crew behin us."

Sid nods, keeping his eyes on the black car carrying the hybrid, "How many ot'er cars we expectin, Chuckie?"

Chuckie shrugs, "Boss say there's a ot'er crew on it way 'fer insurance purposes'. Jus in case we need help impressin' on da fuzz dat we is in charge, not him."

Sid nods, then edges closer to Vince's car, eager to follow the hybrid, and hopefully guide him someplace out of the public eye.

Vince glances up at his rear-view mirror and frowns, _"What's that idiot up to? He's following me way too close."_ He then notices the composition of the furs in the SUV, _"Great … where did I pick these guys up?"_ Grateful that he's put his paws-free device on his phone, he quickly dials the emergency number. "Hey, Officer Weis, it's Vince. Right, the reason for my call is that I seem to have picked up at least one tail, possibly more, filled with what appear to be canines." As he talks he makes several lane changes, each more designed to test how eager a pursuer is, "Right, just tried to see how 'interested' in me they are, and both SUVs that I've noticed have maintained their pursuit of me, despite the thickness of the traffic."

Threading his vehicle between two semis, he spots a sign for an interchange ahead, "I'm going to be hitting the interchange at the expressway, seeing if I make them do something stupid in the cloverleafs."

Guiding the Falcon through the cloverleaf interchange, Vince makes three quarters of the turns before heading perpendicular to how he was already traveling, "All right, I can say there's three SUVs, and my actions have made them a bit more aggressive. I'm currently heading to the industrial sector. Do we have anything we can set up in that direction, so we can catch these idiots?" Suddenly there's a #spack# on the passenger' side door, "Jerry? Tell them that the perps are armed and dangerous. One of 'em just took a pot shot at me." He then listens to the response, "That'll work. The warehouse where we took down that Meth lab should suit just fine. I'll be there in about half an hour, perhaps less. Give them plenty of time to set up the ambush."

Sid growls at Chuckie, "How'd ya miss 'im, ya cur?"

Chuckie growls back, "I hit da door, Sid, it jus din' do nutin to it!"

Sid growls, "Let's get this fuzz aimed where we can has a little talk wid him."

The rest of the canines in the car growl in agreement.

Meanwhile, at a rather large warehouse, there's a bevy of activity, as at least six police cruisers set up in inconspicuous places around the warehouse, several policefurs are running in and out of the building, apparently setting something inside. One fur, a Lynx by his fur and features, watches the goings on, lending a hand where he can, "Okay folks, let's get this set up so the Sergeant can get free and we can question those who are after him."

An officer runs up to the Lynx, "Officer Felin reporting, sir. We've got the building secured. Back door's ready to close once the Sergeant clears it. Word is they're pretty close behind him, but he thinks he can increase his lead at the critical moment. Captain Lynxicata, what are my orders?"

Captain Zorin Lynxicata smiles at the smaller feline, "Get yourself in there, up on the catwalk. We've got stuff for them to investigate, once the Sergeant gets clear. If they are stupid enough to leave their vehicles unguarded, I want you, if you can, to disable them. No heroics, though. If you can keep a running commentary on their actions and what sort of weaponry we might encounter, that would be enough, Blackie."

The smaller feline nods, then runs towards the warehouse, intent on being in position well before the furs in the cars get there.

Vince, having done his best to act like he's being herded in a specific direction, now heads for the warehouse, turning onto the straightaway that leads to the facility. Once lined up with the doors, he hits the gas pedal hard, causing the nose of the vehicle to 'dip' momentarily as the extra horses come into play, the normal purr of the engine turning into a healthy 'roar' of muscle car power. He quickly enters the warehouse, and careening past a few of the hazards that are set up, barrels out the other end of the building, watching the door come slamming down behind him.

Sid, and the other two SUVs behind him, accelerate in anticipation of the chase finally ending. They enter the warehouse only moments after the rear door closes, Sid's SUV stopping in the middle of the building, the other two screeching to a halt near him.

Once all three vehicles are in the building, another officer hits the release on the front door, trapping the canines inside.

Chuckie, seeing this, tries to call out, then growls, "Sid, dere's no service here. We can't call fer backup!"

All eighteen canines exit their vehicles and gather in a huddle between them, Dionn looking around, then taking charge, he being the biggest and the smartest of the group of furs present, "All right, you mangy bunch of louts! Look what not having a plan gets us! That Scumbreed Fuzz must have set this all up when we were thinking we had him where we wanted him!"

The other furs mill around at this, growling accusingly at each other, some getting a bit rough with the more lower ranking furs near them.

Dionn growls low, bringing the fighting to an end, "First things first. I want you furs to case this place, see if they left a way out. Take what weapons from the vehicles you want. Next, I want all of you back here in half an hour, less if you can't find anything."

The rest of the canines nod, then, the three drivers open up the rear hatches, revealing an assortment of clubs, knives, guns, and other less identifiable implements of 'persuasion'. They then split up into pairs and work their ways to the edges of the inside of the building, Dionn pairing up with another wolf just slightly smaller than himself.

Up on the catwalk, Officer Felin is watching the goings on, talking low into a headset attached to his walkie, "Eighteen of them, sir. All canids, as Sergeant Panthris said. They're distributing weapons amongst themselves. I see mostly clubs, but it appears there's at least six guns in evidence, two shotguns and the rest pawguns. Leader appears to be Dionn Shage. That's correct sir." He then watches them move out, "Okay, looks like they're searching to see if we left a bolt hole unsecured from this trap, sir. No one obvious left guarding the vehicles. I'm going to sneak close and see what I can do to disable them, without getting caught." He then keys off the walkie and prowls along the catwalk, pausing directly over the center where the vehicles are. Attaching a rope to the railing, he descends to the floor, where he carefully slinks from SUV to SUV, nicking the keys and laying spikes around the tires in case one of the furs has a spare. His sabotage done, he climbs back up the rope and, untying it and taking it back with him, makes for the corner near the door the rest of the force outside will be using to enter by. He then keys on the walkie again, "Vehicles disabled, sir."

Outside Captain Lynxicata is talking to Vince, "All right, that was Officer Felin checking in. He was able to disable their vehicles. He's now going to provide intel from inside."

Vince nods at his old captain, "Good to know, sir." He then turns his head to the warehouse, "How long do you think before they notice and call out?"

Zorin smiles, "I give it another twenty minutes, tops. With Dionn in charge of that group in there, I can't make a call as to what their reaction will be though."

Tilting his head at the feline, Vince nods, "Hardened felon?"

The lynx nods, "He's got a record as long as your tail, Sergeant. If we do get him, he'll be going away for a good long time." He taps his walkie, "Blackie already let us know he's got one of the firearms being carried in there, and that violates the letter of Dionn's probation."

Vince nods, then checks the time, smiling as he hears a rattling at one of the side doors. Along with a muffled cry of, "Don't shoot, I give up!"

Several officers surround the door, then cautiously open it up, revealing a single canine there, who stumbles into the bright light outside the warehouse. Two of the officers secure the canid and re-secure the door. The canid is then brought over to the captain, "This guy had a Motorola Talkabout® on him, sir."

Zorin takes the short range two way radio, which chirps shortly after it's placed on top of Vince's car. Answering it, Zorin growls, "Captain Lynxicata here, who am I talking to? Yes, the building's surrounded. Oh? Good idea, might save you some time behind bars. I want you to place all your weapons in between the cars and then move to the door your buddy just exited through. I have surveillance in position to verify if you try any funny stuff. I'll give you five minutes to comply or the deal's off."

Officer Felin hears a tone in his earpiece and turns the walkie up, "Click once if you're hearing this, Blackie." The feline clicks the mike button once. "All right, the furs in there are going to be placing their weapons in between the SUVs, I need to know if they're going to try anything stupid." Clicking the mike button again in acknowledgement, the feline stealthily makes his way to where he can observe the SUVs, and the canines.

Soon after the officer is in position, the furs making more than enough noise to mask what little noise the feline made, the group of canids enters the lighted area that their vehicles were in. Each divests themselves of their weapons, several going as far as divesting themselves of their footwear, one of them commenting to his buddy, "I knew dis was a bad ideer, Fuzz knows tricks we dun have no clue abaht." His buddy nods, "Boss know some 'dem tricks, t'ogh. Oterwize he get caught too."

Once the last of the group has divested themselves of their weapons, they head back to the side door and knock on it, Dionn barking out, "We's don what'chu wanted us ta do, Fuzz."

The door is drawn open carefully, each of the canines finding themselves targeted by a large fur in uniform, a voice from behind the row of furs in riot gear says, "Come out slowly, and single file. Paws on back of your heads."

As the canids comply, uniformed officers lead them off to one side or another, to be paw cuffed and processed, the tails of the canids indicating that they're being submissive, at the moment.

Vince watches all this from beside his car, "We got lucky, Captain. Seems that despite being stupid enough to be criminals, they're smart enough to realize that by cooperating, they'll get a lighter sentence."

Zorin nods at the younger feline's words, then says, "Well, I won't be needing you, for the time being, Sergeant. Why don't you head out and finish what you were doing before these idiots decided to make your day interesting."

Chuckling at his old captain's words, understanding that 'interesting' was meant in the 'old Chinese curse' way, "Sounds like a plan, Captain. Hope this didn't mess your day up too much." He then gets back in his vehicle, a few of the officers doing double takes when they realize the steering wheel is on the 'wrong' side.

Noticing this, Vince reaches out and nudges Zorin, "Guess they've never seen a Right Hand drive vehicle?"

Zorin shakes his head, "Guess not. She give you any problems?"

Vince shakes his head, "No, sir, other than what you'd expect for getting used to a new car. I mean, shifting lefty's a bit odd at first, and the blind spots are a bit odd, but you get used to them quickly enough."

Nodding, Zorin smiles, "Have a good day, Vince."

Smiling as he starts the car up, "You too, Zorin, and say hi to your wife for me."

The lynx nods, "Juliet will want to hear everything, once she finds out what I know."

Grinning at the memory of the petite lynxette, Vince smiles, "Well, you haven't heard everything, and the news should be on the grapevine later today, so she'll likely know before you do."

Shaking his head in amusement, Zorin simply motions for Vince to get out of the way of the rest of the investigation.

Vince quickly complies, guiding the Black Beauty through the beginnings of what passes for Seattle's 'Rush Hour' traffic, _"Yerf, that took too much out of my day. Thankfully the rest is easily taken care of. Just a quick stop at a market I know, then the first surprise for Jo-Ann."_

Half an hour from the station Vince keys the hands-free and calls the Precinct, "Valerie? Vince here. Yah, it's true. That's not why I called, though. Is Jo-Ann in house right now? Good! No, don't transfer me. I just wanted to make sure she was in. It's a surprise. You'll find out when everyone else does. I'll be there in roughly twenty minutes, depending on traffic. I'll see you then!" He then hangs up, a grin splitting his muzzle wide as he pictures Jo-Ann's expression when he springs his surprise on her.

# # #

Pulling into the station, Vince slowly pulls into one of the protected spots inside the motor pool. Shutting the vehicle down, he pockets the keys and locks the doors before heading into the precinct. 

Valerie sees Vince enter from the stairs leading from the motor pool, a huge grin plastered on his muzzle. Shaking her head, she follows him at an easy pace.

Jo-Ann looks up when she hears Vince being hailed by a few of the other detectives and turns in his direction, "I thought you had the day off?"

Vince smiles as he gets to Jo-Ann's desk, "Well, I had a few errands to run, then I ran into a spot of trouble that interrupted my schedule."

Shaking her head at the large male before her, "Would that trouble be the eighteen canids whose paperwork Captain Lynxicata sent over here, to share with the FBI?"

Grinning fit to split his muzzle, Vince nods, "You're correct in that guess, Jo-Ann. No wonder you're a Detective," he says teasingly.

Jo-Ann looks into Vince's eyes and says, with a hint of exasperation, "Just WHAT am I supposed to do with you?"

Vince's eyes brighten, then, getting the ring box from his pocket, gets down on his right knee, looks up at Jo-Ann, and, opening the box, says, "Will you marry me, Jo-Ann Procyon?"

Her eyes widening with surprise, Jo-Ann looks down at Vince with her muzzle wide open for a few long moments. Then, with an exasperated shake of her head, she pounces the large male and says, "Yes, you silly male. I said yes in the privacy of my home, I say yes once again before our compatriots, and our friends." She then kisses him fiercely, "No matter what, Vince, I will be your wife for as long as we shall both live."

There is a rousing cheer from all the witnesses, several of the femmes wiping tears from their eyes at the emotions portrayed.

Captain Blackfeather, exiting his office to see what the noise was all about, shakes his head at the sight of Vince down on one knee still, supporting Jo-Ann as she smothers the hybrid with kisses. He then pads over to the two, smiling as they try to compose themselves, "You two will be the talk of the entire force, if you're not careful."

Both Vince and Jo-Ann blush, Jo-Ann speaking up first, "And I know what part of the rumor mill will be saying, sir. Doesn't matter to me, though. I love this male, and I plan on marrying him."

Reginald smiles, knowing that Jo-Ann is referring to the fact she had been an active lesbian for several years, "Fair enough, Detective. Just make sure your relationship doesn't disrupt things around here too much."

Vince smiles at this, "I'll do my best, sir. And I do apologize for the spectacle that just happened. I just wanted to surprise Jo-Ann and formally propose to her in front of her 'family'."

Jo-Ann blushes, hearing Vince's words, then smiles as she hugs her mate, "You certainly did surprise me, love. But I do know why you did it, and I thank you." She then looks mischievously at Reginald, "Though I bet there's going to be one massive bachelor party planned, once this news spreads."

Looking around at the rest of the males in the department, the cougar smiles, "I'm sure we can come up with something tasteful. And I'm sure the furs at Vince's old precinct will help, once they find out about what they missed."

Rolling his eyes at his captain, Vince sighs, "I'm certain I'll have to face that gauntlet, as well as whatever Jo-Ann's friends cook up, once they hear about this, sir."

Grinning, Jo-Ann simply kisses Vince, knowing the Coonas and the rest of her family will do something to welcome Vince into the group.

Reginald then looks at the couple, "Now, I've a precinct to run, and I'm sure Vince has a few other things he needs to do before you see him again, Jo-Ann."

Vince smiles, "Yes, the second half of my 'surprise' for my fiancée."

Jo-Ann blinks at this, then smiles, "You don't have to do anything special for me, love, but I also won't stop you from being who you are."

Smiling as he kisses Jo-Ann, Vince thinks over the rest of his plans, _"All right. I've got all the ingredients I need for the dinner I've planned. I should have just enough time to fix it and have it ready for when she comes home. I hope the kids like it too."_

Releasing the kiss, Jo-Ann looks at the ring, which is now fitted loosely on her finger, "Where did you get the ring anyway, love?"

Vince smiles, "Gran Panthris passed it down to me, to use when I proposed."

Jo-Ann tilts her head, "She won't mind me using it?"

Shaking his head, Vince smiles, "Gran was an open minded sort, didn't mind any of her cubs pairing off with those not the same species. She always said, 'Love is not bound by simple things such as species, true love is universal and all encompassing.'"

Smiling up at her mate, "Truly a progressive woman. I wish I could meet her."

Vince kisses Jo-Ann's nose, "I do too, but she passed a couple years ago, in her sleep, at ninety. I do, however, believe she's looking down on us, now, and smiling."

Jo-Ann nods, then, giving Vince a firm hug, says, "Go finish your surprise, Hon, I'm now looking forward to seeing what you've got planned."

Hugging Jo-Ann briefly, Vince heads back out to his car, seeing that he has just enough time to finish his shopping before having to pick Jo-Ann's cubs up. _"Wonder if I can get them to help me set up the rest of my surprise for their mother?"_

# # #

Kass stretches as he settles down in one of his frequent meditation spots in the Coona's rather spacious patio area. He centers himself, then seeks the pathways to where he normally meets his mentor. Once there, he goes about the rituals of cleansing and purifying, cleaning the residue that accumulated while he was less able to frequent this locale.

While he is putting in the finishing touches, arranging a new vine to grow up a trellis that sits to one side, he becomes aware that he is being watched. His senses tell him that the presence is benign, but curious. "Hello? Why don't you come join me? I won't hurt you."

Emerging from one of the bushes that surround the cleared area, a small feral fox peers up at Kass. ## Hello, sir. You are Shaman? ##

Kass nods, "Yes, taught by my grandfather, in the traditions he knew."

The fox nods, then scampers to one of the benches close to Kass, ## You are a teacher, as well? ##

Tilting his head as he studies the little fox, "Yes, I can teach others how to become Shaman, if they are willing."

The little fox then warily pads closer to Kass, ## I have been sent, to you, for your next student, I will be his first spirit. ##

Kass' eyes widen as he hears this, then studies the fox closer, noticing the coloration of the fox, and, with a shock, he notices that the fox has twinned tails, _"A Kitsune Spirit? That is quite odd. From what I remember Grandfather saying, only truly special Shaman ever get to see a Kitsune, let alone have one as one of their spirit guides."_ "Is there a name I may call you by, or that you wish to be referred to by?"

The little fox's eyes twinkle in merry mischief, ## I am known as Keitaro. And I bear news for you as well, sir. ##

Tilting his head in acknowledgment, Kass smiles, "It is indeed a great honor and pleasure to meet you, Keitaro. And, pray tell, what is this news that requires such an unusual messenger?"

Keitaro grins, as only a fox can, ## No need to be so formal, sir. As for the news, it will be revealed when your new student sees me for the first time. ##

Kass smiles, "So be it, Keitaro." He then settles himself, lotus style, and looks at the little Kitsune, "Is there anything I should know about now, to prepare myself for this new student? And how shall I know this fur when I do see them?"

The little fox settles himself in Kass' lap, ## You will be introduced to him shortly, he has just made a great step in becoming a part of the family you belong to. As for preparing yourself, the only thing I have to suggest, at this time, is to prepare yourself for a fur who is quite open minded, and enjoys finding things to laugh about. ##

Kass nods, thinking, _"Sounds like Vince, Jo-Ann's interest."_ He then looks down at Keitaro, "He has a sense of humor?"

Keitaro nods, ## Especially when it takes intelligence to appreciate the joke fully. ##

Nodding again, Kass goes about readying himself for a lengthy session of learning, "Is there anything that I should learn from you beforehand?"

# # #

Vince smiles as he pulls back in to pick up Jo-Ann's kids, seeing them bouncing on their toes excitedly when they see him in the line to pick cubs up, Richard pointing something out to his sister.

Kelso is the first to enter the car, once Vince pulls up to the designated spot, smiling at the big fur and saying, "Heya, Vince, you have a good day?"

Nodding, Vince buckles Kelso in, then turns to Richard, "Yes, you could say I had a very good day."

Richard climbs into the back as well, letting Vince help him seat himself, "What happened t' the door, Vince? Looks like some'tin' damaged it?"

Smiling at the young raccoon, Vince says, "Nothing to worry about, Richard. Just something I picked up while shopping for dinner tonight."

Both young cubs look curious at this, though they wait until Vince is situated behind the wheel, Kelso chiming in with, "You makin' mommie some'tin' special, Vince?" Richard following up with, "Is it some'tin' we can help with?"

Vince smiles at the questions, "Yes, to both. Now, I'll wait until you're done with your homework to start, and what I've planned isn't too hard to make. The only thing that I have to do immediately, once we're home, is set the meat I bought in the marinade that I'm going to create."

Suddenly the phone rings, startling all three furs.

Answering on the third ring, Vince says, "Hello? Oh, hi mom! You surprised me." Putting the phone on speaker so the cubs can hear, he smiles, "I'm heading to her condo, having picked up her kids from school." He then looks into the mirror, both checking for traffic and glancing at the kids, "Would you two like to say hi to my mom?"

Richard looks at Vince before speaking up, "Hewwo, Miz Panthris!"

Kelso giggles, "Hi there, Miz Panthris!"

Vince smiles as he takes the exit that'll lead to Jo-Ann's condo, "That's Richard and Kelso, mom. They're in Kindergarten right now..."

"Hello Richard, Kelso," comes from the phone, the voice slightly distorted by the speaker, but the kits can tell it's a femme, though her voice is roughened with age, "And, please, call me Deidre, since it seems my son has asked your mother to be his wife." There's a pause, then a male's voice comes over the speaker, "Hi kids, this is Vince's dad, Harry. We're currently in London visiting Vince's sister, but we'll be home soon enough and want to meet all of you."

Smiling, then checking the status of the lights, Vince purrs, "Hey there, pops. Yah, Jo-Ann wants to meet all of you guys as well. Might be time for a good old-fashioned family reunion, to let the clan know what's been happening."

Harry says, "Well, Candice just nodded in affirmative, so I can only guess that she wants a chance to talk to you in furson." A young sounding voice pipes in, distorted more by distance, "If my crazy twin insists on making me an aunt, it's best the whole family's there too!"

Vince laughs, "Tell Sis that I love her too."

Deidre reclaims the phone, "We'll be coming home in three weeks, son. We'll call to set up a good time to meet."

Pulling into his spot near Jo-Ann's condo, Vince nods, "Next week I get to meet her family, both parts of it … Have a lovely trip, all of you, and we should talk more often."

Over the speaker is heard, "Be safe, and stay out of trouble! See you when we get home." Then there's a click as the line disconnected.

Vince looks back at the twins, "I have pictures of my family up in my stuff. What do you think about getting your homework done then showing your mom and you guys the pictures?"

Both kits smile and nod, then get themselves out of their seats, grinning at Vince's surprise, Kelso speaking up, "Mom made us learn how t'get out, jus in case of an accident. She also say not to get out if we feel hurt or sick."

Nodding, Vince grabs his keys then locks up the car after the kits get out, leading them up to Jo-Ann's apartment, _"I wonder how long it'll be before I start thinking of it as 'our' place instead of just hers?"_

# # #

Knocking on the door as she and Marc enter, Lynne calls out, "Gwen? Anyone home?"

Coming out, clad only in her fur, Kel smiles at the skunkette and tiger, "Hey you two! Long time no see!" She then hugs Lynne, "Guess your calling really suits you, you look terrific."

Marc smiles as he takes his turn hugging the buxom vixen, "And how are things on the home front, Kel? We've been a bit cut off from news for a bit."

Kel smiles, "Get comfy, you two, and I'll catch you up on what's happened since I spoke to you last." She then returns to the kitchen, briefly, and brings out a tray of snack food.

Lynne's the first one finished getting herself 'comfortable' in the Coona sense, returning to the living room and settling herself on the couch, "Marc's still the chivalrous type, lets me get ready first, no matter that we'll see each other in the fur afterwards."

Marc grins as he comes up behind the skunkette, his eye patch lending him an air of roguish mystery, "Perhaps it is more that I treasure the intimacy that undressing invokes that precludes me from giving you more ammunition to tease me with?" He then settles next to Lynne on the couch and looks at Kel, "So, what is the news?"

Grinning at the byplay between the Paladin and her 'Squire', Kel covers her muzzle briefly to hide a laugh before regaining a serious appearance, "Well, the biggest piece of news is that Jo-Ann found a mate, and is engaged to be married."

Eyes sparkling in happiness, Lynne gives a gleeful 'squeep' before asking, "Who's the lucky fur?"

Shaking his head at his partner, Marc grabs a small roll of cheese, listening to Kel as she helps 'detox' both himself and Lynne.

Kel grins, "New transfer into her precinct, by the name of Vince Panthris. He's more or less swept Jo-Ann off her feet. We'll meet him this next Sunday, we're having a bar-b-cue, am I guessing I can count on both of you to be there?" Receiving two identical nods, Kel smiles, "Both Jo-Ann's dad and brother will be there also. Plus two other furs." She turns to look at Lynne, "You remember Veronica?"

Lynne nods, "Yes, yes I do. Very vivacious femme, good sense of taste and humor. Seemed to have a good head on her shoulders." She tilts her head at Kel, "She find a femme yet?"

Marc smiles, having met Veronica as well, "She's still working with Gwen, right?"

Smiling, Kel giggles, "Not sure about the first, Lynne, but from what Gwen told me there might be a possibility. As for still working with Gwen, I think that if Veronica tried to leave, there'd be a mutiny."

Grinning widely, Lynne nods, "I remember her fondly from when we moved the companies here to Seattle. She struck me as a fur who was more than a simple 'placeholder'."

Kel nods, "The last fur that I know that will be here is Kessira Tigris, Gwen's chief of Security. She joined the company right out of the Air Force, her training really groomed her for the role she assumed."

Lynne nods, "Anything special we should be aware of, with Vince and Kessira?"

Smiling broadly, Kel nods, "First is that Vince is a Cougar / Raccoon mix, and Kessira is a Tiger / Polar Bear mix." She then looks meaningfully at Lynne and Marc, "Both also have the potential to be Magickal, as well as Veronica. They also seem to be forming a rock band."

Eyebrows rising in surprise, Marc smiles, "Sounds like an interesting group. As for the other tidbit, well, after dealing with 'Sparky' here, I can tell you that Magickal folks tend to find each other, especially when there is a need."

Mock-swatting Marc, Lynne smiles, "I look forward to meeting them. Now I think Marc and I need to avail ourselves of the hot tub and then a spare bed. We need to recharge before talking to everyone."

Kel makes shooing motions, "I'll bring a platter of snacks and some Switchel, you two go relax. I'll also let Gwen know you're here."

Lynne nods, "Thanks, hon. I appreciate that." She then thinks of her Sorceress cousin, _"I never imagined anything like what I've been through when I ran into her that fateful day."_

Marc nods as he gets up, then offers Lynne his paw, "Shall we two depart for the awaiting hot tub?"

Grinning, Lynne takes Marc's paw and stands up, now quite comfortable with her partner, and smiling at him, "Indeed, we shall."

Kel giggles at the by-play between the two, _"They might not be formally married, but they're definitely two halves of one whole."_

# # #

Veronica answers the call, seeing it's coming from Casa Coona North, "Heya Kel, how's it going?" "Oh? That's good to know!" She then looks at her calendar, "Gwen will be free in about half an hour, unless these furs cause the meeting to run on."

She then chuckles, "I'll let her know. I'm sure she'll be happy to know Lynne's home." She taps the handset, "While I'm on the phone with you, is there anything I should bring for the bar-b-cue? And for Kessira as well?"

Listening to the response, Veronica chuckles, "I can do that. I'll let Kessira know as well."

# # #

Gwen, in the meeting with the furs representing just one portion of the multi-faceted complex of companies she'd inherited, grimaces as she refrains from snapping in irritation. _"Some furs just can't get straight to the point."_

The head fur, an older male bulldog, is going over the details on his clipboard in excruciating detail, never varying his inflection in the slightest.

One of the younger furs, a femme Saluki, catches Gwen's eye and rolls her eyes at her boss, clearly in agreement with the fact that this time could be better spent.

Royce Grummand, finishing his enumeration of all the details on his clipboard, looks up at Gwen and grumbles, "Well, that's the whole list of what my division has been doing this last quarter."

Charity Skye gathers up all the paperwork she brought, leaving the packet she'd prepared for Gwen, which has all the details Royce just said, exactly as he said it. She then stands back, letting her boss exit the office first.

Standing as she watches Royce exit, Gwen says, "Charity, could I talk to you for a moment?"

The young femme nods and waits, closing the door behind her once Royce has left, "Everything okay, Mrs Coona?"

Gwen nods, "Yes, Mrs Skye." Once the door's closed she gives Charity a big grin, "You guys holding up okay? Is there anything you think I should know that wasn't included in that report?"

Charity relaxes a bit, "Yes, we are. Mr. Grummand isn't a bad boss, and I think he'll relax soon enough. He just seems better with hard data than ephemeral concepts."

Nodding, Gwen smiles, Charity being one of the furs she hired to 'replace' Veronica, "I'm sure you're right."

Smiling, Charity taps her notes, "As for what wasn't in here, well, if we keep going the way we are, there will be several furs getting Achievement Awards for their performance."

Gwen beams, the Achievement Awards being one of the things she implemented once the companies had fully migrated to Seattle. They were a physical representation of the thanks due for doing a good job. There were several tiers of awards; General Achievements were for 'out of the box' thinking, and along with a small Plexiglass globe there was a $25 American Express Gift card; Exceptional Achievements were for taking on new challenges and bringing new talents to the company, their globe was a bit larger and the gift card was $50; last was the Global Achievement, given to furs who brought new 'blood' into the company, forging relationships with other companies, the statue that accompanied this award had the continents highlighted in bronze, and the gift card that accompanied this award was $100.

Thinking on the Awards, Gwen smiles, _"And Charity deserves at least an Exceptional for her assistance in bringing Royce up to speed on how this company works."_

Charity smiles at her boss, "On a more personal note, I have something I need to tell you." An impish smile cuing Gwen into the fact that it's good news.

Gwen tilts her head, "You and your husband were successful?" she asks teasingly.

Laughing, her hair shimmering in the light, Charity nods, "How'd you guess? We hadn't told anyone until we had verified with the doctor."

Grinning fit to split her muzzle, Gwen chirrs, "You've got a glow about you, hon. Any mother would recognize it, and having seen that glow on a couple friends, I can definitely say I think you'll be a terrific mother." She then comes around her desk and offers a hug to the femme, "How far along are you?"

Charity steps into Gwen's hug, "About two months, and thanks Gwen. Bill and I have been trying for a while, and we're over the moon now..."

Gwen nods, having met William Skye, a rather boisterous Skye Terrier, who's accent often got the better of him when he was excited, "How's Bill doing in his job?"

Tipping her head to the side, Charity thinks, "Well, he's happy that UPS is busy right now, keeps him engaged." She taps her muzzle, "Gives him the focus he needs."

Nodding, Gwen smiles, "Thanks for the news, Hon, now I'll let you get back to your job. We'll discuss maternity leave when you get closer to your time."

Charity grins, knowing that Gwen's company had one of the best sets of benefits for pregnant femmes and new mothers, allowing the femmes to continue working from home if they wanted to, and maternity leave usually included at least half a year of paid leave, "Have a good day, boss." She then exits Gwen's office, waving to Veronica as she leaves.

Veronica smiles at the femme, then gets up and enters Gwen's office, "Had a call for you during the meeting." She then grins at the skunkette, "Seems your cousin just got home and is now availing herself of the hot tub."

Gwen smiles at the news, "That's good news. I was worried about them, being out of touch for so long." She then shakes her head, _"But I know Lynne can take care of herself, especially after all the training Kass and Marc put her through." _Then, with a shake of her head to reorient herself, "It'll be good to see them again."

Nodding, Veronica tilts her head at Gwen, "Lynne's really enjoying her job, finding you new sources for spices, isn't she? I wonder what she found this time."

Smiling, Gwen nods, "She always wanted to travel; now she can, and get paid to do it." She grins at the 'cover' story that they came up with for Lynne to go off on her missions. _"Doesn't hurt that she has found some really good spices, we've definitely benefited from this development."_ "I'm sure she'll tell me once I see her at home."

Veronica looks at the clock on her desk, "You've got about forty five minutes before your next meeting, Gwen. Why don't you go get a snack and a cup of coffee before they arrive?"

Gwen tilts her head, "Remind me who it is?"

Turning to her computer, Veronica checks Gwen's schedule, "It's Raynor Shipping."

Nodding, Gwen sighs, thinking Veronica's suggestion has merit, "Wonder what they'll bring this time." Said Shipping company always delivering a mixed bag of spices each delivery. No matter what, though, it did tend to sell well, even the oddball spices.

"Well, perhaps if it's good enough, your friend Kass can whip something tasty up with it," says the Skunk / Wolverine hybrid, remembering the meal Kass whipped up the night she met him, grinning at the skunkette.

Gwen gives Veronica a cheeky grin, then says, "Want me to get you anything from the machines while I'm there?"

Veronica hrms, "If they have any of those Nature Valley Sweet and Salty Nut™ Granola bars, then yes, otherwise, I'm okay."

Grinning, Gwen nods, having grown fond of the granola bars herself, "Good as done, hon." She then makes her way down to the break room, something she had insisted be put on each floor of the office building, so that furs could run for a quick snack or take a phone call away from the noise of the office.

# # #

Later that night, Veronica starts awake, panting with reaction, then grabs the pad she put next to her bed for just this purpose. Jotting down what she remembers, she tries to calm herself, _"Mother of Pearl, Gwen wasn't kidding when she said I'd have memorable dreams."_

First thing she jots down is the setting of the dream; **We were in a Park, in a clearing, surrounded by very large trees. I'll need to check a map to see if I get an idea where this park was.**

Next she jots down who she remembered being there; **I saw Gwen, Rick, Kass, Kelso, Mikey, Cassy, KC, Vince, Jo-Ann, and Kessira. There were a few other furs there, but they were 'fuzzy', as if I hadn't met them yet.**

She then recalls what was happening; **I was marrying Kessira … I was wearing the dress, and she was wearing something that suited her. The fur presiding over the ceremony was an odd one: he seemed to be a hybrid of Badger and Ratel. We were having a non-traditional ceremony, but all the furs we loved were there for us.**

She finishes the log with the time, date, and other minutia which she thinks are relevant, both from the dream and when she woke up, muttering to herself, "That's the first one."


	5. Barbecue and Revelations

My thanks to Rick Coona and his alter ego, Joe Martelle, for their kind permission to write this story in their universe. Their comments and encouragement have been instrumental in bringing this story to life.

George Woodrow IV – 2009 - 2011

Kassir Ujinkhan, Joe Fenris, Carol Fenris, Jeff Salters, Michelle Musteline, George MacInnes, Tim Johansen, Bill Richards, George Leonis, Phil Leonis, Leona Felis Leonis, Lynne Smyth, Michael Pardis, Christine Uncia, Karl Ursiris, Richard Kassir Charles Procyon, Kelso Gwenwyfar Procyon, Janice Lynne Ujinkhan, Alexander Kassir Ujinkhan, Harold Hendrikson, Susan Blackstone © Chuck Percy

TigerMark, MarcBrannigan © His Player

Rick Coona, Gwen Smith Coona, Kacy "KC" Coona, Kirk Otterman, Mike Ferretti, Cassy Bhunny Ferretti, Max Badger, Kath Badger, Bill Badger, Ted Badger, Bruno, Lupé Carlotta, Panda Phil, Jo-Ann Procyon, Charles Procyon, Marcus Procyon, Jack Canus, Esmerelda Smyth, Richard Coona, Helen Coona, Max Coona, Sally Coona, Kacy Kelso Coona, Richard Randolph Coona, . © Joe Martelle

Vince Panthris, Veronica Dae Wynne, Kessira "Ghost" Tigris, Valerie Vulpes, FursList, FurMail, Dwight "Scratcher" Daniels, Molly Daniels, Clyve "Spots" Asher, Purity Spices, Janice Wyld, Albert Wyld, Lance 'Gnasher' Fenrir, Claire Kurisawa, Dwight Lupin, William 'Wild Bill' Strynger, Tymoth Edwards, Annalisa Snowpaws, Mykhail Friedrich, Geoffry Oceanis, Annette Oceanis, Sylvia Oceanis, Stevie, Cliff, Malachi, Zeke, Deke, The Children of the Pure Moon, Wylde Longstride, Reginald Blackfeather, Blake Paguma, Miz Swenson, Sylvia Paguma, Julio Vulpes, Francine Woolmyra, Zarius Zoaster Wylfgar the Third, Quinn Tallman, Lancir Concolor Pantheris, Anisu Christie, Simon Whyte, Kodi Adams, Klauss , Rusty McCloud, Kumiko Tigris, Jazmyn Panthris, Candice Panthris, Deidre Panthris, Zorin Lynxicata, Dennis 'Raix' Stringer, Jayce Terwilliger, Sid Maul, Chuckie Sweil, Luke Feriss, Dicer, Dionn Shage, Blackie Felin, Keitaro, Harry Panthris, Royce Grummand, Charity Skye, Raynor Shipping, Manius Zathur, Amber Stareyes, Carmine Ferretti, Isabelle 'Izzy' Ferretti, Natalie Aardwolf, Carlise Bennet, Jaxen Margay © George Woodrow IV

Any resemblance to any fur, living, dead, or imagined by anyone else is purely coincidental and unintentional.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the memory of my grandmother, who recently passed on, at the age of 89. She was one of the most open and welcoming people you could ever wish to meet. I believe she was an embodiment of universal love, but I may be biased.

**Chapter 5 – Barbecue and Revelations**

Kass stirs, then he gets up, checking the time, noticing the early hour, _"Even on the base I don't get up this early. I must be a bit nervous about what's going to be happening today."_ He then checks on his wife, who he sees is sleeping quite deeply, _"Not too surprising, seeing as she got home at three in the morning."_

Stretching as he gets up, his mind turning to all the tasks that are ahead for the day, _"Might as well get things started. I know I want to get dinner set up and ready, especially for Vince."_

He smiles as he remembers meeting Jo-Ann's fiancé, the past weekend, when she brought him over, partly so that her 'family' could meet him, but also to show off the engagement band Vince had startled her with.

He had liked Vince almost immediately, liking the fur's laid-back attitude once he had gotten comfortable with the Coona clan. He also remembered raising an eyebrow at the armor Vince had left in the disrobing room. Jo-Ann had smiled, then had Vince recall why he felt the need to wear the stuff, even off-duty.

Kass smiled at his recollection of the tale, eyes widening at the mention of the fox seen before each purchase. He did get a chance to access Vince's aura as well, definitely powerful, and a feeling that Shamanism will give him a lead on his actual path of learning, _"If I had to put a NAME to what he is, the closest I can guess would be 'Bard', like in the old medieval tales."_

He then moves quietly to the kitchen, starting to gather all the supplies he'll need, separating one pan for Vince's dish; a variation on the Mongolian Beef he'd prepared when he'd first joined the Coona clan, but quite a bit spicier than even he could tolerate it. He'd questioned Vince rather thoroughly about his tolerance, and what sort of dishes he'd like. He chuckled, remembering Vince describing the nuances between various crops of habanero peppers, and how they each accentuated meat in different ways.

Kass then got out the gloves he'd purchased for himself, for prepping Vince's dish. He had a very good reason for prepping and handling the hybrid's meal, as he didn't want to affect anyone else who didn't have the same tolerance for heat as the big fur.

Hearing noise behind him he turns in time to see Kacy Coona enter the kitchen. Giving the vivacious femme a smile, "Figured I'd start some of the prep now, so that when things get started, there's less chaos."

KC nods, then smiles, "I see you're being extra cautious with that batch, hon. Any reason?"

Kass smiles, "This is for Jo-Ann's fiancée. The guy's a serious chili pepper aficionado. He eats Habanero peppers and can taste the difference between where they're grown."

The raccoon femme's eyes widen, knowing the sort of heat described, and knowing how carefully she'd have to prep anything like that at her restaurant, "Well, let me help you do some of the other prep, so you can concentrate on the male who's spicing Jo-Ann's life up."

Shaking his head at the word play, the snow leopard smiles, "Rick out-did himself in finding the meat for this barbecue, why don't you see what sort of preparations you'd like to do?" He then gets the gloves on, the reinforced tips preventing his claws from breaking through easily, gathering the separate cutting board and knives he'll be using for the dish.

KC nods, letting Kass concentrate as she gathers her spices together. Seeing the available cuts, she gets out a couple crock pots and puts a pot roast in one and a selection of thick ribs in the other, adding a medley of spices and a barbecue sauce she'd made up before coming up north.

Kass sniffs the air as KC opens the jar of barbecue sauce, "Ooooh, you'll have to share the recipe for that one, hon. It's making my mouth water even before it's heated up." He then sets about dicing the peppers for Vince's dish, leaving the seeds in, as requested.

Grinning, KC says, "Sure hon. Remind me before I head home." She then covers the crock pots, setting them on 'fast', so they're pretty much done in four hours. After making sure that the covers are secure, she switches to making breakfast for the clan, knowing that once the meats start cooking, folks will be coming out of the woodwork.

Sure enough, half an hour after the scents of slow-cooked pork waft from the room, the first of the other occupants enter the kitchen, noses a-twitch. Rick is leading the way, first giving his twin a hug, "Well, that's an interesting thing to wake up to. Normally it's a bunch of Screaming Bed Wenches that wakes us up of a morning."

Kass smiles over his shoulder at Rick, "Kel's likely to be the last to wake up, she was too tired for anything last night." He then pauses to think, smiling at Gwen when she meanders in, "Gwen, could you do me a 'wee' favor?"

Gwen looks at Kass, tilting her head, "And what might this favor be, Kass?"

Raising an eyebrow at the beautiful skunkette, "Could you check and see if Mike's gran decided to play more tricks on us?" He looks her in her eyes, "She's been a lot more tired lately, though I haven't noticed any issues with food, yet."

Eyes widening, Gwen nods, then smiles, "Once I've woken up enough, I'll look in on her." She thinks on Straga Nona, the grandmother of Michael Ferretti, who had been quite a powerful witch in life, and still had quite an influence, despite passing to the other side of the veil several years ago.

Kass nods before turning back to the last of the preparations he's made for Vince's meal, letting the spices saturate the meat for a couple hours. He then slips off the gloves and deposits them in the trash, a new pair waiting for him when he returned to the meal.

Rick raises an eyebrow at Kass, a questioning look crossing his muzzle, "That Vince's dish, Kass?"

The snow leopard nods as he washes his paws, "I know I can't handle the level of heat that fur can. And if you aren't careful, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble by getting the oils somewhere that reacts badly to them."

KC pats her brother's arm, "Trust us, brother, the capsicum in those peppers could easily blind a fur, if it were to get in his eyes and there was no relief readily at hand."

Both eyebrows raised, Rick shakes his head, "Well, all I can say is that he's definitely a good compliment to Jo-Ann. Cool temper balanced by spicy tastes."

Kel then pads into the room, barely awake, but smiling as she looks at all her family, snugging Kass when she gets close to him, "Lover, could I bother you for some light crackers? And I might re-think the spice level of what I'm having too." She then peers at Gwen, "Gwen, could you double check me, hon? I'm kinda foggy minded this morning and I don't trust my senses."

Gwen smiles, "Well, seeing as the spotty one who's your mate asked me to check you out as well, I'll be glad to." Her eyes then grow unfocused as she looks at Kel, using some of the healing techniques she'd learned over the years. What she 'sees' is not what she expected though, and looking up at Kel, she smiles, "I don't know how to say this hon …"

The red and cream vixen looks at her friend and squirms as the prognosis is drawn out, turning to Kass and pouting, "Kass, Gwen's teasing meeeeee!"

This exclamation draws a laugh from the other furs there, KC shaking her head at the antics, smiling at the love that she knows is embodied in this house, "Stop teasing the poor girl, Gwen!"

Smiling the skunkette comes up to Kel and caresses her tummy, "Let's just say I'm glad you're not doing the Olympics any time soon." She then kisses the vixen's nose, "I'd use a Pregnancy test to make sure, but from what I see, you and Kass will be parents again."

Kass hugs Kel to him, "So, my lovely vixen, it seems we have reason to celebrate, doesn't it?"

Kel nods, then kisses Kass on his lips, "I wasn't too late, but little things kept hinting at it hon." She then swishes her tail, "Just hope that the rest of the surprises are pleasant ones."

Rick nods, grimacing at the reminder of the ugliness when they'd had a visit from an errant Paladin, hoping the new group of purists weren't going to target their group, or any of their friends.

# # #

Nervous eyes scanned the horizon as a lone wolf drives his SUV up to the gates of a long abandoned military base, the weeds and wildlife showing decades of disuse, only a small trail, one that appeared to be left by a feral elk, showed any sign of life anywhere in the vicinity. Lance Fenrir smiled to himself, _"Good old __Manius Zathur. Knew how to hide from the feds, no one would imagine that The Children of the Pure Moon would operate out of a place like this."_ He then drives a way along, until he comes to a break in the fencing, just barely big enough for his SUV to pass through, with what appeared to be a storage building in easy driving distance. The shrubbery in the area was a bit more beaten down, but it seemed as if someone had taken pains to ensure that it appeared natural, as if animals made a habit of using the building for shelter from storms.

Lance then slowly drives into the shelter provided by the building, killing the engine and pocketing the keys. He then lopes over to the far corner, where one of the many entrances to the warren of corridors below the base existed.

Lifting up what appeared to be a rotting skull of an elk, the large wolf accessed the keypad that opened the hatch to the Lair. _"Manius isn't gonna be happy, though. The news I'm bringing isn't the best. And I hope nothing else has gone wrong since I've left the base. Bloody mixer feline was keeping an awful close eye on me as of late."_

As he lowers himself into the tunnel revealed by the open hatch, Lance smiled, nastily, muttering aloud, "At least here I have the pleasure of the company of my own kind."

Lance then closes the hatch above him, dropping down to the tunnel, which would look different from what any fur who had served on the base might remember, a nasty smile crossing his muzzle, _"If any were still alive to remember this place existed."_ He then takes the next left, heading deep into the center of the Lair, giving recognition signs to the sentries he passes, nodding to the few he recognizes.

Manius looks up as Lance enters the main den, what once held the hardened operations center for the base, all the equipment stripped before the base had been decommissioned. He beckons Lance to approach him, "I hear you bring news, Gnasher."

Lance smiles at his Hunt name, which tells him that his Alpha won't be taking the bad news out of his hide, "Indeed, Deamhain. I bring worrying news. Of Pack members brought low by mixers and traitors."

The big wolf then passes on the hardcopy of the news he was entrusted to bring to the Alpha. This was part of his duty to the Pack, bringing messages from the Lair to those out in the field that shouldn't be traced. He had partly earned this honor through right of passage, and partly due to the fact the Alpha was his sire.

Manius' lips writhe in a snarl of distaste, "That ScumBreed Fuzz caused us to lose much honor. Damn feline set Dionn and his crew up to get caught. Lost us eighteen good strong Pack members, unless we can figure a way to spring 'em from the Fed pen that they're likely to be held at."

Lance grimaces at this news, nodding at his father, "At least Dionn's crew knows enough to keep their traps shut." He points to the hardcopy, "One of the crew sent to leave a message for the mixer fuzz turned canary. They even caught the 'specialist' who was sent in to shut him up."

The elder wolf blanches at that, "Must have had some experience dealing with such furs in the past. Wouldn't expect that out of such an ordinary precinct. Perhaps I should do a little research on the furs who call it home."

Smiling, grimly, Lance hands his father a slim file, "Brief history of the place. Was in the news a couple years ago with that Belleview Butcher nutter. They seem to have a friendly relationship with the local Feds, due to something that's got a higher security level than I can access."

Manius blanches at that, looking into his son's eyes, "Wasn't there something to do with another Purist group a couple years ago. Brotherhood of the Pure Strain, I think it was, right?"

Lance thinks, then nods, "And here's where it gets convoluted. The C.O. of my base, Captain Ujinkhan, was involved in that, or at least what files I could access without tipping my hand led me in that direction."

Shaking his head wearily, Manius growls, "You be careful around him, then. He can probably sense more than he lets on." He then beckons his son closer, "Why don't you go enjoy yourself while you're home, son."

Grinning, Lance nods, "It's been too long since I've spent time with my mates." He then strolls out of his father's 'office' and makes his way deeper into the Lair, finding his way to his own quarters, where several naked femmes greeted him.

If anyone with a degree in psychology were able to witness the scene, it would be quite evident that most of the femmes were scared out of their minds, and that they had been conditioned to accept their fate.

Lance smiles as he freely fondles and gropes the femmes, reveling in the scents that greet him. He then callously grabs the youngest of them, a young girl barely past puberty, and gestures for the rest of his harem to follow him to his bed, "I plan on spending time with all of you," a meaningful leer gracing his muzzle.

The youngest femme, shivering at Lance's touch, closes her eyes as she resigns herself to her place in the Pack. _"I am but a lowly Omega in the pack, this is all I can be. I should feel honored that the son of the Alpha has chosen me for his harem."_ A tiny part of her mind arguing with the conditioning, screaming at her to do something to make her life better.

Feeling the shivering, Lance cruelly kisses the young femme, his claws brutally pinching her nipples, "Amber, you little slut, why do you fear my touch? Don't you desire to do your part for the Pack and bear as many males as you can?" 

Amber Stareyes, nods fearfully at Lance's words, knowing he held her life in his paws. She submits to his rough pawing, eyes closing as she concentrates on the brief view she'd had of the outside while Lance had been away.

# # #

Lynne sits up in her bed, panting in reaction to the vision she'd been witnessing. As she calms down she takes a pad from the bedside, noting down everything she remembers from the dream, including a general feeling of the furs she'd witnessed.

She then makes her way to the kitchen, smiling as she catches Kass and Kel teasing each other, then catching Gwen's eye, letting her cousin know that something was up.

Kass turns to the skunkette as she enters, "Something up, Lynne?" He senses a surge of nervousness coming from the femme.

Kel also focuses on her friend, then hugs her, comfortingly.

Lynne nods at Kass then smiles as she hugs Kel back, "I just got woken up by a really horrific dream, and I'm hoping against my instincts that a dream is all it was."

Gwen nods, then takes the pad from Lynne, "Quite detailed hon. This male wolf seems a bit familiar to me, for some reason, though I believe I've never met anyone who matches the description you've written down."

She then passes it to Kass who peruses it, his eyebrows rising when he gets to the description of the wolf. He looks at Lynne and then, quietly, asks, "Hon, are you sure of theses dimensions for him?"

Lynne nods, "I saw him next to several pieces of equipment that I knew the height of, why?"

Kass growls as he puts the pad down on the table, a rather disgusted look crossing his muzzle, "Because, unless I'm wrong, you just described one of my Trainees. The one who set off quite a few warning bells with not only myself, but Jeff and Kel as well. I had phoned NCIS to start an investigation on him before I came home."

Kel brings her paws to her muzzle, eyes widening as she remembers who her husband and mate was describing, "I told you I could feel the hate rolling off him any time he saw us together, hon."

Rick and Gwen look at each other then Rick looks at Kass, "You think a Purist has infiltrated the Navy and your training, Kass?"

The snow leopard nods, grimly, "I hope that I'm wrong, but so far every shred of evidence I've come across seems to lead in that direction."

Gwen's eyes grow large, "That is not good. Not only will it be miserable dealing with him, but the backlash could be memorable."

Kass looks at Gwen with a wry smile, "Memorable indeed. Though a lot of good may come out of this as well." He nuzzles Kel's ears, "Depending on the outcome, this might be what the higher-ups have been waiting on. Though, to be honest, I think I would prefer to go into the reserves once all this mess is over."

Kel looks up at Kass, nuzzling the underside of his muzzle, understanding what he was saying, knowing that her husband wanted a quieter life, to slip back out of the spotlight that he hated so much.

Lynne looks to Kass and says, "I will tell you this much. I would warn those who do go in on the raid to be ready to deal with many severely abused furs." She then looks down at her paws, "After what I saw, I wish I could talk to someone like Nona, to unburden myself of the horrors that I witnessed before I woke up."

With a sparkle and a yip a tiny feral fox appears out of the bushes that help shroud the patio. The fox then pads up to Lynne and places its forefeet on her knee, as if trying to give her a hug.

Kass blinks at the fox before releasing one arm from holding Kel and snugging Lynne one-armed, "Lynne, I have long ago learned to be wary using the word 'wish'." He looks down at the fox and tilts his head, "Keitaro?"

The little fox nods as he keeps his forepaws on Lynne's knee.

Both Gwen and Rick come up and hug Lynne after Kass does, Gwen chirring, "Never forget, Lynne, each of us here would never betray the trust you've given us, and we're here if you ever feel the need to talk or vent." She then looks at Kass, "A friend?"

The snow leopard looks at Gwen, "He's Vince's Spirit guide. I met him just recently, while meditating." He catches Gwen's startled reaction, and nods, "Yes, this spirit can manifest in the physical world."

Rick tilts his head, his own path of learning quite different than either Gwen's or Kass', a thought running through his head as he tries to puzzle things out.

Lynne giggles as she relaxes, "Thank you all." She then offers her free paw to the tiny fox, as if asking to hold him, "Would this little scamp have any relationship to TM's 'friend' Tani?"

Kass nods, then catches Rick's startled gaze, "You're about as surprised as I was when I met him for the first time. Little scamp likes surprising folks too. But I think that's just part of his nature."

Keitaro leaps up into Lynne's arms, nuzzling her in a comforting fashion, he then looks at Kass and says, ##Could you tell her this? Tell her: Remember that your family is always there for you, young lady. Never forget that burdens shared are often burdens halved. The burden of what you've seen may never go away, but in sharing it, the magnitude of the pain can be lessened. ##

The snow leopard nods, then smiles at Lynne, "He said to tell you 'Remember that your family is always there for you, young lady. Never forget that burdens shared are often burdens halved. The burden of what you've seen may never go away, but in sharing it, the magnitude of the pain can be lessened.' That is quite good advice."

The little fox then nods before fading back out of sight, still in Lynne's arms, the last bit of him to vanish being the tips of his tails.

Marc enters the kitchen to see the group hug and several furs with gobsmacked looks on their muzzles. He comes up behind Lynne and caresses her tail, "Another bad one, hon?"

Lynne shivers at Marc's touch then nods, "And we had a rather unexpected visitor as well. One who provided needed advice."

The others nod then release Lynne slowly, each letting her know in their own way that they're available if she ever needs to talk or simply needed a cuddle, Kass being the last to release her, "Take a moment to collect yourself, and just relax."

The younger skunkette nods before turning to Marc and kissing his nose, "Now, hon, let's get breakfast and then see about getting a bit more rest? I know we're still on Rome time, or only halfway back to ours. We want to be ready for the barbecue later, don't we?" The way she's teasing him hints that there might be other reasons for retiring back to their bed.

Rick shares a smile with KC and Gwen, knowing that Lynne and Marc were more than simple friends, yet not pushing them to show more affection publicly.

Gwen returns the look and smiles, knowing her cousin to be a lot shyer than she was, and knowing Marc was a good match for her, someone who would not only balance her, but be able to calm her down before she did anything too rash.

Marc smiled down at his mate and then nods at her, happier than ever to have met the vivacious and spunky femme.

# # #

Jo-Ann stretches as she awakens, smiling as she feels her fiancée spooning up behind her, his large frame radiating comfortable warmth, a soft purr letting her know he was still asleep. She shifts slightly, trying to disentangle his arm from her waist, nature announcing that she needs to visit the bathroom quickly. _"Today's the big barbecue. I'm nervous, despite Vince and Kass hitting it off when I introduced them. Kass set it up so he could get a good feel for Vince, and also question him about his spice tolerance. I know Kass is planning a special dish or each of us . . . tho I don't remember hearing that Veronica or Kessira were asked about their meals."_

She stretches as she gets up, tail merrily swishing behind her in an unconsciously sultry fashion as she makes her way to the bathroom, a wide grin on her muzzle as she remembered the past week.

_Best thing that happened this past week was learning how Vince and I meshed as a team. Seems a lot of those assholes who tried to 'teach him his place' had a long list of priors, some with Narcotics. We're forming another task force, though it's decentralized at the moment. Vince has been a godsend to us, though. His knowledge allowed him to go through the files which are being put on the police database and find connecting evidence between those perps and quite a few unsolved cases._

Jo-Ann gives a mental chuckle at how excited the Captain was, _"Though when Special Agent Annette saw what he did, she covered her muzzle with her paw and shook her head."_

_Vince used several simple search engines to organize the findings. Seems like this bunch of Darwin Award Nominees has been around, in one form or another, for over forty years. Started off as a single entity, which is called 'The Pack'. Bunch of Canine Purist nimrods gathered together and figured they'd be better off working together than as lone wolves._

She thought about the lists of crimes that were attributed to this group; kidnapping, murder, extortion, rape, possession, possession with intent to sell, money laundering, arson, grand theft auto, theft, robbery, terrorism, smuggling, slavery, forgery, jury tampering, sedition, fraud, election tampering, and a whole slew of other crimes. _"A veritable hive of Scum and Villainy. And each generation that followed them just piled more depravity on top of what was already there."_

Jo-Ann then sighs and slips back into bed, snuggling up to her fiancé, determined to put all the negative emotions behind her. When she notes the time she smiles to herself, then sets about waking Vince in a rather unorthodox, but quite pleasant, fashion.

Vince smiles as he awakens, a rumbling purr announcing his good mood. He then gazes at his fiancée and tilts his head at her, "Good morning, beautiful." He then ruffles her ears, "You know, being woken up this way, well, it could prove to be addictive," he teases, enjoying just how well suited he and Jo-Ann seem to be.

# # #

Kessira stretches as she wakes up, feeling refreshed, then gazes at the sleeping form beside her fondly. She shakes her head at the whirlwind of changes that had happened to her over the last couple of weeks.

First an old ex-lover had surfaced and attempted to do her bodily harm; then she had moved her drum kit over to Veronica's house, partly due to the fact it would make things easier once Twisted Pair started practicing, but also partly due to the fact that said ex was a Purist piece of trash who couldn't be counted to stay out of her life.

She smiles at the memory of driving into Veronica's spacious garage, her little sister sitting next to her. She introduced Kumiko to Veronica before she brought the drum set to the practice area.

The form next to her stirs and then, as the fur wakes up, a beautiful muzzle is revealed as Veronica awakens, a sleepy, yet adorable chirr is uttered as the femme slowly gathers her thoughts.

Kessira smiles, stroking the side of Veronica's muzzle, "Good morning, my sweet lady. We have folks to meet today, Gwen's barbecue, remember?"

Veronica nods, then smiles and nuzzles Kessira, slowly enfolding the other femme in a loving embrace, "Indeed, my love. I wonder how surprised they'll be by our announcement?"

The ice white tigress smiles, "I doubt they'll be surprised at all, my love. Hell, if you remember, Gwen was practically throwing me at you."

Shaking her head, Veronica smiles before cupping Kessira's bosom, remembering the dream, triggered by the book that Gwen gave her, that made it almost a fore-gone conclusion that she'd at least ask Kessira out, "I'm glad she did, my love. I'm so glad I found you, my ionúin Tigress."

Kessira grins back at Veronica, "I'm glad to have found you, my love." She then lets the covers slowly slip off her lithe frame, revealing only her fur, "Now, what shall we do until it's time for us to leave?"

Veronica smiles, shifting the covers, revealing herself to be in a similar state of undress, her ample curves well maintained, "I think we can keep each other occupied. Though Gwen did say that the hot tub and sauna will be available starting noon time. Why don't we make sure we're in need of both?" she says with a saucy wink and, drawing Kessira to her, she kisses the other femme passionately.

Kissing back, Kessira purrs, deep in her chest, slowly cupping her partner's breasts, she keeps the kiss going as long as possible before breaking it and smiling, "I have a feeling we'll both be glad that Monday's a holiday. I have a feeling that tonight will hold many happy surprises."

Replying enthusiastically, Veronica lets her hands and body do the talking, remarking to herself just how lucky she was, finding someone who loved her for who she was, no matter what odd things happened. _"At least now I understand why my garden is so green, and how I manage to get things to grow that I've been told shouldn't thrive in this climate."_

# # #

Kel was puttering around the kitchen as she watched Kass prepare Vince's dish, having taken over the rest of the prep work, sharing that chore with Rick's sister, Kacy. She smiled at the vivacious raccoon femme, "I'm looking forward to having everyone together. We haven't had one of these where more than the core Family has gotten together in the longest time."

KC nodded then snugged the buxom vixen, "I know, hon, and I hope we don't scare off the new furs we're meeting today." She then checked on the large steak that was being seared to make sashimi, carefully timing the cooking to perfection. She also checked on the rice, buffalo steaks, vegetables, noodles, and the other various foods that were being prepped for this get together.

Giggling, Kel smiles, "Veronica shouldn't be easy to scare off, she's been here from time to time. And from what Kass told me, Vince takes things in stride, very little phases that fur. Kessira's the one I'm worried about. Though, she does come from Bruno's old haunt, so I would think she doesn't spook easy."

Tilting her head at the vixen, KC asks, "Kessira knows Bruno?" Curiosity written all over the femme's muzzle, "I wonder if she'll be willing to let any juicy tidbits about his youth slip," a mischievous grin beginning to form as she thinks about her 'honey bear'.

Laughing, Kel grins, "Had a talk with the big bear, seems he 'adopted' Kessira as his little sister, back when she was growing up. Protected her from those who picked on her since she was a hybrid." She thinks for a moment, "She went into the military service as well, though she went Air Force rather than Army like he did."

Nodding, KC flipped the last steak, "Shouldn't be phased by us, then."

Smiling, Kel shook her head no, "Didn't seem phased when Gwen said that this was a 'clothing optional' household. Figured 'warned ahead is armed ahead'."

KC chuckles at this saying, "Kass is rubbing off on you hon, that's classic Military thinking there."

Kelso's eyes widen, then her muzzle fluffs, "Kass keeps telling me that those things'll creep into my vocabulary," a wry look crossing her muzzle, "That Shaman's gonna get good and Pounced," she mutters loudly enough for her husband to hear.

Kass chuckles, having overheard the conversation, "Just as long as that Healer realizes that Pouncing may result in other things happening as well!" He fondly remembers the last time Kelso really 'pounced' him, back after the Olympics were over and she'd gotten her last Gold Medal. That was when Straga Nona had caused his lovely mate to not only come into heat, but get pregnant with twins.

KC just laughed at the expression on Kelso's muzzle, which was a combination of surprise, wonderment, and desire, _"Looks like the vixxie's ready to be in a family way again,"_ a soft grin crossing her muzzle, this time thinking on whether or not she'd ever think of slowing down and having a family of her own. She then thought of the Sous Chef, Kirk, who was helping cover for her while she was away, _"It's a tie between him and Bruno for who I'd like to be the daddy, if I did decide to settle down more. Too bad Bruno can't."_

Kel smiled at her husband, "Well, one result has already happened, my love, but I do so love getting my paws all over you, every chance I get." She then kisses Kass' nose, affectionately.

# # #

Vince grimaces slightly as he gets into his car, having enjoyed his morning with his fiancée, but his knee was giving him a hard time since he got out of his shower. Looking over as Jo-Ann gets in on the passenger side, still having a little issue with the fact she's on the left side, he murmurs, "Hope your friends don't mind if I'm a bit short-tempered, hon. My knee's been acting up a lot this morning." He then readjusts the knee brace, which seems to not be sitting right, for some reason.

Jo-Ann smiles and pats his paw, "I'm sure they won't mind, hon." She then grins, to herself, _"And if I'm right, you'll get an introduction to Magick tonight. I know Kass mentioned something about it, to me. And I know Kel will feel your pain from a mile away, so she'll want to do __something__ for you. All we need to do now is convince you we're not looney." _She then looks at Vince and knows that he'll be all right, in the end.

Smiling as he backs out of his 'assigned' parking space, Vince double checks that everything is working as it should. The GPS unit on the dash was pointing him in the right direction, the radio wasn't too loud, and all the dials and lights on the dash were reading correctly. He then turned to Jo-Ann, "Let's get there, shall we?"

Chuckling a little at his attitude, Jo-Ann nods, "Can't wait for you to meet them all, hon. I know they'll adore you." She then checks on the kits, who were strapped into their car seats, "Ready to have fun at Aunt Gwen's?"

Both Richard and Kelso nod emphatically, looking forward to playing with all their 'cousins'. "Then we're gonna be spendin' tha night at Gran Kath's."

Vince smiled as he pulled up at a light, enjoying the odd looks he got because of Black Beauty, _"Though I seriously need to think of a better name for her. She's definitely not the same make and model as the car used in those old 'Green Hornet' shows, after all."_

Shortly thereafter he pulls into one of the spots set aside for visitors at Casa Coona North, carefully parking so as to leave plenty of space for anyone else, _"I know Jo-Ann's Dad and brother will be here, as will the Badgers, Bruno, Kessira's bringing Kumiko and Veronica with her. Going to be a bit tight, but I don't have anywhere special to be tomorrow, so I don't mind getting blocked in."_

He then helps Jo-Ann extricate the cubs from their seats.

Kelso giggles, "Wanna Piggy-Back Ride, mistah Vince!"

Vince looks to Jo-Ann to see if she minds, then boosts the little raccoon femme onto his shoulders, "Just warn me if I need to duck for you, sweetie."

The little femme giggled madly, gripping Vince's hair carefully, "Okie dokie!"

Jo-Ann simply shook her head at the antics of her daughter, who one moment would act years beyond her age, then the next would revert to behavior which would be expected from a child her age. She then made her way to the interior door and held it open for everyone, knowing the ceilings just beyond the doorway would provide plenty of room, so there weren't many hazards for her daughter.

Entering the hall, Vince took a few moments to take a sense of the furs here, an inner voice that he'd learned to trust over the years telling him he's safe here. "Anyone home?" he calls out as he enters the living room, mindful of his passenger, who was giggling madly from her perch.

Kel called from the kitchen, "We'll be right there, just checking on the food prep."

Kass pads out from the kitchen and smiles at Vince and Kelso, "Little Kel, you keep getting bigger each time I see you. Won't be much longer before you can't beg rides from Vince here!"

Kelso giggles as she clings to Vince's hair, "Is fun though!" She then points back at the hallway, "Mommie an Ricky are comin' too."

Gwen smiles as she came in from the patio area, "Seems you've got your hands full there, sir."

Vince turns to see Gwen and is momentarily stunned by her beauty, but recovers swiftly and purrs, "At least she's playful." He then extends his paw, "Pleasant to meet you, Mrs. Coona. My name's Vince Panthris, though I tend to answer to most any nickname based off my first name." He then cringes a bit, remembering the teasing he'd gotten when the movie 'My Cousin Vinnie' had come out.

Smiling as she takes the extended paw, "Call me Gwen, Vince. Mrs. Coona always makes me feel as if there's a stiff-necked matron behind me, scandalized by my behavior."

Shaking his head and chuckling at the riposte, Vince purrs, "I think you and my mum would get along famously."

Vince lowers himself into a chair, mindful of his passenger, "How long until the rest of the crowd's here?"

Rick shakes his head, "Cassy and Mike'll be here shortly, Max and Kath Badger will be here just before dinner's ready, and Kessira just called to say she's on her way with her sister and Veronica."

Kass purrs as he comes up behind Vince and tickles the raccoon kit that shares his wife's name, "Food should be ready by the time everyone's here, even with all the dishes that need special attention."

Just then the door opens and reveals Mike and Cassy, who have brought along their children, Carmine and Isabelle.

Cassy hops up to Jo-Ann and gives her a hug, giggling, "Heya!" She then looks at Vince, "And you must be the fellow who's swept this coonie off her feet!"

Jo-Ann play-swats at Cassy, "Silly bun. Only you would call me a coonie."

Vince smiles up at Cassy, who is doing her best to give him a good view of her ample assets, "My name's Vince, Mrs. Ferretti." He then looks up at Jo-Ann and smiles, "I can only hope I swept her off her feet, for she took my breath away the first time we met."

This is met with a chorus of 'Awws' and the sight of Jo-Ann blushing furiously. The raccoon femme recovers swiftly, however and gives Vince a solid kiss on his lips.

The door bell rings and Kel strides over to open it, welcoming in Max and Kath Badger, who are immediately swarmed by all the cubs present, each wanting to welcome their honorary grandparents.

Max recovers first and helps Kel hang up his and his wife's coats, then looks to Rick, "Brought the big van tonight, Rick."

Rick nods, then heads over to his boss, "I've got their bags packed, except for last minute items, want me to start putting them in the back?"

The badger nods, "I'll help, just so we can keep the load balanced." He then leads the raccoon out to the van, which is more along the lines of a converted school bus.

Rick smiles when he sees it, as it was a gift from the 'Family' to the Badgers, Kass had commissioned one of the local custom vehicle shops to make it. Somehow the shop had converted one of the little shuttle-style school buses into one of the coolest people movers on the road.

All the seats had been replaced with bench seats, with integrated child seats and safety harnesses. The whole frame had been reinforced after the run-in with the Brethren, replacing the glass with bullet resistant variants. Each seat had a small monitor which could display a variety of things, but the coolest function, according to the cubs, was when they were hooked up to the small turret-mounted cameras that dotted the roof. Each turret had its own controls and the kits all seemed to enjoy spotting things.

Kass had kept his muzzle shut on how he'd convinced the furs in charge of the shop to do the customization, which led most of the other adults to believe that the crew boss was one of the Snow Leopard's old Seal buddies.

As Rick loads in the last of the overnight bags the cubs were taking, he smiles seeing Veronica's car pull in, two other femmes with her. He waves cheerfully as she parks, walking over to them, "You're the last we're waiting on, so come in and make yourselves comfy."

Veronica smiles as she looks to Kessira and Kumiko, "Shall we mingle?" She helps Kumiko up out of the back, grateful that they'd taken Kessira's Crown Vic, as she's certain that Kumiko wouldn't have fit in the back of her Mini.

Rick pads over and offers his paw, "Welcome to Casa Coona North, my name's Rick, and I hope you feel comfortable here."

Kumiko blushes a bit at the gallantry, placing the paw not extended to take Rick's over her muzzle, shyly, "Thank you, sir. M'name's Kumiko, m'big sis figures it'll do me some good t'meet new folks."

Nodding as he takes in the young femme, Rick chirrs, "Well, I do hope that you'll enjoy yourself today, Kumiko." His eyes taking in a rather striking femme, who, while having the same eye and fur colors as her sister, was almost the opposite physically, showing more of the Polar Bear heritage, though he could tell the femme worked out regularly.

Veronica giggles a bit at this, then leads Kessira inside, "Let me show you around a bit, hon." She swishes her tail playfully as she leads her lover inside, knowing Kumiko is in good paws.

Jo-Ann smiles as she sees Kessira and Veronica entering, "Hey you two, glad you could make it." She'd heard, through the grapevine at the precinct about the attack on Kessira's place, _"Bloody idiot Purists couldn't stand that one of their own got taken out by a femme. I'm just glad that Kessira knows how to take care of herself."_

Kelso and Richard smile as they see Veronica and then run up to her, yelling, "Auntie 'Roni, we's glad to see you again!" before hugging the femme's legs.

This led to the eruption of the majority of the cubs from wherever they had been, converging on the hybrid to give her a welcoming hug.

Shaking her head at the display, Gwen smiles, "Food will be ready in about half an hour, and the last furs will be here before then. Welcome, all, to Casa Coona North's first annual Get Together and Barbecue."

The door from the garage opens just as the last of these words are uttered, Max and Kath Badger lead the way while Charles and Markus brought up the rear, Markus' fiancée being shown through the door by Rick, who's also guiding Kumiko.

Jo-Ann smiles as she gets up and hugs her brother, "Mind introducing your friend, Markus? Dad did say you had someone special now."

Markus Procyon smiles as he hugs his sister back, "Sis, everyone, I'd like you to meet my fiancée, Natalie Aardwolf."

The vivacious and pretty femme smiles as she's introduced, grinning as she sees all the kits, "Hi. Y'all can call me Natalie, or Nat. I met this hunk of 'coonie a couple of years ago, and we've been datin' for a spell. He popped the question jus t'other night." Her voice a lovely southern drawl.

KC grins as she pads up to the two, "Congratulations, then, you two."

Max laughs, then speaks up, "My twins won't be joining us, they're both out on dates today, at separate locales!"

Rick laughs at this, "Bill and Ted finally found femmes willing to date 'em? Will wonders never cease." He then gestures to the porch area, which is set up with a long trestle style table, "Why doesn't everyone find a place to sit? Food'll be ready any moment, and Kass has whipped up a few surprises for us all."

Kass and Kel pair up, along with Mike and Cassy, Jo-Ann pads over to help Vince up, then leads him to the table, settling next to him. All the cubs giggle as they release Veronica and swarm the triplet of card tables that have been set up or them.

Veronica curls her arm around Kessira's waist, then leads the femme to the table, seating herself beside her mate, though she hasn't told anyone, officially, yet.

Gwen notices this, tilting her head a bit at both Veronica and Kessira, but her senses tell her that they're happy together, in these early stages of things.

Rick starts bringing out the food, taking extra care to bring the specially prepared dishes to those who requested them. The kitchen being deemed too small for things to be done buffet style, a large table is set up along one side of the patio area, where the rest of the food is set up, citronella candles set up to keep most of the insects away.

Standing up at the head of the table, Rick smiles at those who are attending this get together, and then says, "I would like to thank you all for coming here today, friends both old and new." He then smiles broadly at Gwen, "Now, before I start making speeches, I'm going to sit down and tuck into this meal, and I suggest you all do the same."

Laughs erupt from around the table as those gathered start eating what's before them, Vince, in particular, seeming to be beyond words as he tastes the dish prepared for him by Kass.

Kel smiles as she curls her tail so it rests next to her mates', and murmurs, "Thank you, hon." She then kisses his cheek before resuming eating her dish.

Kass, with experience born of a happy marriage, simply smiles and doesn't need to question why he's being thanked.

Mike shakes his head a bit at the byplay between Kass and Kel before turning his attention, briefly, to the children's tables, checking to see if any words need to be said to get a child to eat what's in front of them. He is relieved, however, to see the cubs behaving themselves, even his two were eating, and he knew Izzy was a bit precocious.

Cassy smiles as she notices Mike's gaze and tickles his side, lightly. When she gets his attention, she grins, "They'll be good because they want to impress their new friends."

Max and Kath start chatting with Rick and Gwen as they eat, talking about the twins, and what new plans are being made for Open Season. The last suggestion, a karaoke night, had garnered a fair amount of steady traffic and Max was trying to figure out what might suit the bar on one of the other free nights, yet not overwhelm their steady customers.

Jo-Ann laughs as she hears Vince's quiet enjoyment of the dish Kass prepared, the fumes enough to cause her eyes to tear a bit, "Tasty, hon?"

Vince nods, then turns to Kass, "Thank you, Kass. Your skills as a chef haven't been exaggerated, if this is an example of what you can turn out." He then lifts a forkful of the dish, "You've done what few furs can, balanced taste and spice." His expression turns a bit wry, "Too many times, I find that chefs go for heat rather than taste, and it ruins the experience."

Kass smiles, "I had a bit of help from KC here, but, yes, I do know of what you're talking about."

KC laughs as Kass defers to her a bit, "I'm the head chef at a chi-chi five star restaurant, Vince. I've learned, through experience, how to balance things like that, but I do agree, most of the chefs I've come across can't do subtle if they tried." Her face getting a look of distaste as she thinks of the 'possum that her boss keeps going to each time she takes a vacation.

Lynne and Marc have decided to simply enjoy being with family and aren't participating much in any of the conversations, Lynne speaking up when she's asked what new things she's found. "Well, I did find this great source of salt, but the quantities are a bit limited. Marc and I came across this small village that had a salt flat near it. The mineral composition of the salt was rather unusual, and added new textures to the food served in the local inn. But, the quantities we agreed upon for export will still make it a luxury spice."

Marc nodded, "Fortunately the salt is being refreshed each year, we don't want to exceed what's being deposited."

Everyone nods at this, then Gwen asks Max about the girls his twins were going out with.

Max smiles, "William's found this nice Chinchilla femme, by the name of Carlise Bennet. Theodore, however, has found a wild child of a feline, by the name of Jaxen Margay. I'm holding my judgment on them at the moment, and seeing how things progress. It's only the second date for both of them, and they insisted on going to different places."

Unbeknown to all the adult furs at the table, while Max is speaking, a small fox leaves the bushes behind Vince and, using what cover there is, scampers to a position underneath the large hybrid's chair. Janice and Alexander, however, do spot the fox, their eyes widening as some of their father's teachings allow them to notice something odd about the fox.

As the meal progresses, most of the adults make trips between the table and the food, Vince being one of the few that doesn't make as many trips, stating that his knee seems to be flaring up.

On one of her return trips, Kel notices the fox and looks at Kass, meaningfully before whispering to him, "We have an unexpected visitor, hon."

Kass' eyebrows raise, then he peers in Vince's direction and puts his palm over his muzzle, "Let's hope little Keitaro is patient enough to wait until Max and Kath leave with the cubs," to which his mate fervently agrees.

One by one the cubs finish their meals and place their dishes in the sink, rinsing them briefly before heading to the bathroom and washing up.

Max and Kath smile as they settle into the front seat of their van, grinning as the cubs have all settled themselves, Kath then says, "You guys ready to have fun?" To which there is a resounding cheer of affirmation.

Charles, Markus, and Natalie also excuse themselves, Markus chiming in with, "I need to get Natalie home before her parents send out a search party," at which the pretty femme's muzzle fluffs in a slight blush before she playfully swats Markus, "It's not that bad, sweetie."

She then turns to Gwen and grins, "Dad's a bit protective."

Markus shakes his head, "That's like saying the ocean's a bit wet, love."

Gwen laughs at the byplay between the two, shaking her head at the playful teasing going on.

Rick smiles as he watches the Badgers and the Procyons drive off, his arm around Gwen's waist, "That was too close."

Gwen nods, "I'm surprised that Keitaro showed himself the way he did. From what Kass has taught me, they typically don't manifest in a way that mundanes can see them."

The two of them then make their way back to the living room where everyone else was gathered.

Vince is grimacing as he seats himself in an overstuffed arm chair, his knee definitely having a flare up, he jokes to Jo-Ann, "Sorry, love, but I'm afraid I won't be doing much dancing tonight."

Kel seems almost beside herself as she holds back from just Healing Vince's knee, long experience telling her that until he acknowledges the existence of Magick or he asked her for her help, she could do nothing.

Jo-Ann smiles at her mate, then starts as she spots Keitaro, who is ghosting his way next to Vince.

Kass notices this, and then peers at Vince, using all of his senses and abilities. His eyes widen as he sees the potentials that are becoming visible. He then speaks up, trying to sound calm, "Jo-Ann spoke to me about the fox you seemed to notice before you bought a piece of armor, Vince. Do you remember anything specific about it? Odd colorations, whether or not other furs noticed it, little things like that?"

Vince cocks his head to the side as he thinks, "Jo-Ann made me think about this recently, so I may have a few things that come to mind."

Cassy and Mike smile, the rabbit femme saying, "Don't worry if it sounds odd, Vince, we won't judge. We won't hold anything you say here against you." Mike nodding at this.

Vince smiles at this, then takes Jo-Ann's paw in his, "Thanks, that does help. Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that I never noticed the fox ever having a shadow, and there were times where a shadow would have been evident."

Gwen nods, "Go on, Vince. We'll let you know why we're asking this soon enough."

Vince gives a soft chuckle, "Right." He then purrs, "Second thing that comes to mind is that his tail seemed blurred, as if there was the image of two tails superimposed over each other."

Keitaro chooses that moment to put his front paws on Vince's calf and look up at him, giving a soft chortling 'yelp'. ## You saw my tails, young one? ##

Vince sits up straighter at the touch, then looks down at the fox who seems to have spoken to him, his eyes growing wide, "Y-y-yes, I did. How am I hearing you? What are you?" He then looks at everyone else to see if they see the fox as well.

Mike's eyes widen as he sees the little fox, then hears it speak, but having experienced seeing Straga Nona after she had passed on, he was a lot more accepting of strange things than he used to be.

Cassy's fur stands on edge as she hears the fox, then sees him as Vince speaks back, a weird smile creasing her muzzle, glad to be witness to this occasion.

Gwen shakes her head, then laughs, "You little scamp, you just had to do things this way," speaking directly to the fox, giving no doubt that she sees it.

Kelso simply giggles, then starts preparing her energies, "Leave it to a fox to make mischief."

Kass spares Kelso a look, then smiles, "Vince, don't worry, you're not going crazy."

Vince's eyes widen, then he tentatively extends his paw to Keitaro, "Can anyone explain what's going on? This is stranger than the stories I've heard about my great great grandmother..."

Kumiko comes up behind her sister, then smiles at what's happening, "If your Ancestor is anything like ours, Vince, then there is truth to some of those stories."

Kessira turns to look at Kumiko, then her eyes widen, "*She Who Walks The Frozen Path was seen?*" she whispers, in an awed tone, slipping unconsciously into Chinese.

Kass turns briefly to look at Kessira and Kumiko, then glances at Veronica, to ascertain if what he thinks is happening is transpiring.

Vince looks up at Jo-Ann, seeking her eyes, then shakes his head, as if clearing his thoughts, "What my grandmother told me about her grandmother, and the things she supposedly did." He then looks to Kass, "Great great gran was a rare mix, she was born of a Florida panther who traveled north to the Carolinas, her mother was from the Oconee Tribe and her father was from the Cape Fear Indians, and she was supposedly raised as the Shaman's Apprentice, but wasn't just taught Women's Magick."

Kass' jaw drops, slightly, at this bit of history, "Vince, that bit of history puts a new spin on things." He then looks to Gwen, Marc, and Rick; then Kel, Jo-Ann, and Lynne; then finally Kessira, Kumiko, and Veronica, "Each of you who are here now are touched by Magick in your own way." He looks to Vince, "The being before you is your spirit guide, if you choose to follow the path of Magick which is open to you, Vince."

The large hybrid's eyes widen as he takes in this news, then looks to Kel, first, "Kelso, my instincts are screaming at me to trust you all."

Rick smiles, "We do understand, Vince. It's a lot to ask, to believe in Magick."

Lynne nods, "I was skeptical when I first learned about this, but the rewards have so far outweighed any troubles." She then snuggles against Marc.

Mike smiles, "I firmly believe that if it wasn't for Magick in my life, I wouldn't be alive, let alone be married to this sweet bunny and have two kids."

Vince nods, "I'll take whatever training I can get, plus any help you're willing to give." He then curls his tail around Jo-Ann's ankle, "For some reason I feel as if I wouldn't have met this lovely coonie without something nudging me along."

Kel smiles at this then comes close to Vince, "Vince, if you mean that about accepting help, I would like to attempt to give you some relief from the pain your knee is giving you."

Kass looks at Kel, grinning fit to split his muzzle in half, knowing that the Healer within her is aching to help Vince, "First, Vince, could you give me the name of your ancestress?" Thinking to himself, _"If she is as strong as I think she was, to learn not just Woman's Magick but Warrior's as well,we may get a surprise when we form the Circle."_

Vince looks to Kass, then thinks, "From what I was told, she was only known as 'She Who Walks With The Night' … the tales lead me to believe that she took after the darker side of my family." He then looks at Kel, his eyes seeming to become unfocused briefly, "Healer, I ask thee to use thy talents to aide this humble aspirant," his voice taking on a slightly odd tone before he shakes his head and, with a smirk, "Kel, if you can make my knee feel less like there's millions of tiny beetles crawling around inside of it, I think that I'll be in your debt for quite a while."

~ ~ ~ (End, Chapter 5) ~ ~ ~


End file.
